SVG Coastguard has busy end of year assisting St Lucians

The St Vincent and the Grenadines(SVG) Coastguard had a busy end of year, with a wave of St Lucians stranded at sea reaching out to them for rescue.

Lieutenant Commander Deon Henry spoke to SEARHCLIGHT yesterday and informed that on December 28, a vessel named ‘Shilo’ with three St Lucian fishermen was picked up six nautical miles off the coast of Owia.

The three men, who had gone a fishing expedition, and had fish on the boat when they were found, sent out a distress call to the coastguard at around eight o’clock that night.

The Coastguard took the boat, with a broken down engine, to the Owia Fisheries Complex, and the men to the Calliaqua base.

The next day, they assisted them in repairing the vessel, and the men left to return to St Lucia.

For a second vessel ‘To God be the Glory,’ the Coastguard was again deployed after a distress call was received, to search for the vessel. However, there were no sightings of the vessel.

From there, the coastguard informed the Maritime Rescue Coalition Centre (MRCC) in Trinidad, who then informed Barbados, Grenada and St Lucia. They also sent out the message to all vessels in the location where the coastguard had informed them that the craft would be.

‘To God be the Glory’ found salvation at the hands of a tanker which was travelling between Trinidad and Tobago and St Lucia on December 30.