Fishers puzzled by latest sea rescue as veteran calls for stronger safety rules

Questions are swirling among the fishing community after two men described in official reports as Barbadian fishermen were rescued aboard a drifting vessel near Venezuelan waters.

The development, which stands in sharp contrast to the loss at sea of two fishermen earlier this year,  has prompted the veteran to call for stronger safety rules, including mandatory life rafts. 

Jason Alexander Harewood and Lionel DaCosta Barnes were recently rescued at sea aboard a drifting vessel named the Twin Fin near Venezuelan waters, before being transported to Jamaica.

Everton Brathwaite, a 54-year fishing veteran, said fishers he spoke with remain stumped by their identities.

“I ain’t know that boat and I ain’t even know the men,” Brathwaite said. “I never see or hear the name call yet. I asked a lot of people who these men are, and nobody can tell me who they really were, so I don’t know where exactly they fish from.”

Other fishers approached by Barbados TODAY could not vouch for the men’s identities. Police were then contacted, but they too could shed no more light on the men.

The bizarre incident stands in stark contrast to an offshore tragedy in which two fishermen were lost at sea without a trace in rough waters. For Brathwaite, these contrasting cases demonstrate how critical modern technology and tracking systems have become for survival on the open water.

“Lost in a boat now out to sea is very rare. On a scale from one to ten, it is a nine [for safety],” Brathwaite explained, noting that satellite technology has fundamentally changed marine safety compared to decades past. “You will find that fishermen used to get lost before, but they won’t get lost now because there’s so much technology there. Fellas got big radios, they got VHF…. Now it has improved. They got Starlink [satellite internet] on board, so you’re in touch with the world as you go out to sea.”

The integration of onboard satellite internet systems such as Starlink allows crews to use instant messaging applications such as WhatsApp to maintain direct contact with the mainland.

“You could call home, you could talk to your family, you could talk to anybody on the landing, boat owner, if you encounter a problem, a mechanic to help you out directly. I did that many times already. It’s a more safe process than years before.”

Brathwaite said he pays $570.88 a month for a 50-gigabyte internet broadband data package, keeping his mobile phone powered continuously throughout every trip. “My phone is on from the time I leave ‘til I get back,” he added.

The veteran fisherman was not sure about the number of boats that have already installed Starlink units, while a growing number carry digital trackers monitored by the Coast Guard and the Fisheries Division. When a vessel experiences trouble, these devices eliminate guesswork during search-and-rescue operations.

“Searching for a small boat like this in a wide ocean… you need to know exactly where the boat was fishing out of the area,” Brathwaite said. “It don’t make any sense that a boat is going missing and we don’t know what direction the boat is going…. With trackers, the Coast Guard or Fisheries are able to look and see where the boat is and direct you straight to it.”

But tracking equipment alone cannot protect mariners from sudden catastrophes such as onboard fires or capsising in rough seas, which Brathwaite suggested may have caused the disappearance of the two men earlier this year. Brathwaite pointed to a recent incident involving a Trinidadian vessel that caught fire and sank. The flames blocked the crew from reaching their primary life raft, but a secondary dinghy kept them afloat until a passing ship rescued them.

Brathwaite called on authorities to enforce strict regulatory safety standards across the entire fleet.

“Fishermen should always get all types of equipment on board in case of emergency that you can get found, because when you leave from here, you ain’t seeing at the back door,” Brathwaite urged. “When you leave from here and you go out to sea, there’s no guarantee that you can come back. So you must have everything possible on board the boat.”

He suggested that the Fisheries Division mandate life rafts as a non-negotiable requirement for vessel certification.

“These boats don’t have any life rafts on board. That’s one of the policies the Fisheries should implement,” he said. “Make it mandatory that it should be going with the inspection. If you don’t get a life raft, you can’t pass inspection. That should be one of the main things because it’s saving lives.” 

(RR)