St. Vincent and the Grenadines is still holding out hope that the MV Guidance II, a 150 ft-long ferry that went missing during the July 1 passage of Hurricane Beryl, would be found with the five crew members alive.
“Every day you’re hearing different news and you never know whether it’s verified or not. Ultimately, those have proven not to be verified,” Opposition Leader Godwin Friday said this week.
“And I hope that still there’s good news to come from that. Its five crew members on it,” he said.
Friday said he had met the wife of the captain of the boat, Maxwell Burke.
“And she’s hoping for a miracle but hoping that more can be done to find them,” Friday said.
“This is something that nobody, nobody would wish to happen. Nobody called it upon themselves. And everybody who has been affected is entitled to the assistance from us, first and foremost as a community, and from the international community,” he said.
In a statement on July 9, the Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force said it was investigating the disappearance of the vessel.
Police said the vessel was last known to be in the harbour in Canouan on July 1.
They said the vessel has a white superstructure and it is believed that the vessel’s communication and GPS systems are likely damaged, “as the last known position indicates the ship was adrift many miles”.
The police noted the unsubstantiated claims that the vessel and its crew had been found.
“We are appealing to the public for any information that would lead to the safe recovery of the vessel and its crew,” the police said and asked people with information to call 999, 911 or the SVG Coast Guard Service at (784) 457-4578.
“Your assistance is crucial in ensuring the safety of the crew and the recovery of the vessel.”
On Wednesday, MP for the Southern Grenadines, Terrance Ollivierre noted that five of the six deaths as a result of Hurricane Beryl occurred in his constituency.
“… and in Canouan, we are still praying for the safe return of the MV Guidance — … the captain Maxwell Burke and his crew,” Ollivierre said.
He said it is alleged that Burke was in the Canouan Harbor the morning of the hurricane.
“But from since then, we haven’t seen or heard anything about the boat or the captain and the crew and we are praying for their safe return to us in St Vincent and the Grenadines,” Ollivierre said.
He said the vessel is a crucial aspect of our transportation system, travelling the whole of the Grenadines even down to Petit St. Vincent and Petite Martinique.
“… so we were really out and hoping, praying that he’s somewhere safe and they will be return to us. Our hopes are high on that,” Ollivierre said.