Venezuelan Fishermen Rescued By US and and JM Coast Guards

Six Venezuelan fishermen were yesterday rescued and brought to land by the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) Coast Guard and the United States Coast Guard (USCG), after their fishing vessel sank about 250 nautical miles south east of Jamaica’s mainland.

According to Major Basil Jarrett, Civil Military Cooperation and Media Affairs Officer for the JDF, the fishermen, who had sailed from Venezuela since early April, were discovered by the United States Coast Guard who saw them in distress just south of Haiti. The men were recovered from the sinking vessel by the USCG who then notified the JDF Coast Guard and requested that they be received and handed over to the Venezuelan embassy.

The six men were picked up by the JDF Coast Guard and brought ashore at the JDF Coast Guard Headquarters in Port Royal. They were received by representatives of the Ministry of Health (MOH), the Passport Immigration and Citizenship Agency (PICA), Immigration Officers, the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) and the Venezuelan Embassy. The men were then processed and screened before being released to the patronage of the Venezuelan embassy.

The six foreigners were grateful to both the JDF and the United States Coast Guards for saving their lives and expressed relief to be safe and back on land.

The JDF Coast Guard is the maritime arm of the Jamaica Defence Force and has primary responsibility for search and rescue operations at sea. Jamaica is a signatory to the International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue (1979) which stipulates that, parties to the convention “shall ensure that assistance be provided to any person in distress at sea.”