By JADE RUSSELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

jrussell@tribunemedia.net

FOR months, a foreign vessel has sat idle in Bahamian waters, a mystery that drew public attention only after its bright orange lifeboat washed ashore last week near Albany.

Royal Bahamas Defence Force Senior Commander William Sturrup identified the vessel as the Caribbean Energy, saying it has a local agent. He said the tanker entered The Bahamas on September 3 with eight people on board. Six crew members later left and returned to their home country, leaving two men on the vessel.

Those remaining two reportedly abandoned the ship on September 20 and came ashore near Albany.

“The owner is trying to procure tickets for those two persons to get out of the country, and he said he's flying in nine crew members sometime this week, they sail that boat out of the country,” Commander Sturrup said.

He added that a salvage company has been hired to remove the lifeboat and any related debris from the beach. The two crew members still in The Bahamas have been checking on the vessel before returning ashore.

Bahamas Port Controller Berne Wright confirmed he has been in contact with the vessel’s owner, who plans to bring in a replacement crew from Venezuela to move the ship. However, he said the owner has struggled to get the new crew into the country and is considering alternatives.

Asked whether the owner would face penalties, Controller Wright said: “There are international conventions that speak to this type of situation that we'll have to confer with the Attorney General's office to determine that course of action.”

The vessel’s owner is from the Dominican Republic, and The Tribune understands the commercial vessel also originated there. According to VesselFinder.com, the Caribbean Energy is a 1992 Chemical/Oil Products Tanker sailing under the flag of Mongolia and registered in the Dominican Republic. It is about 124 metres long.

The situation drew attention on Wednesday when the lifeboat washed up on the beach at Royale Beach Estates. It was discovered by Percy Vreeken of Detroit, Michigan, whose family owns a condo in the area.

“My daughter was on the beach and said, ‘Hey, look, there’s an orange boat on the beach over there,’” Mr Vreeken told The Tribune. “We all went down to have a look.”

Mr Vreeken said he believes the lifeboat came from a cargo vessel anchored offshore. “I’m 100 percent sure the vessel it came from is right out front,” he said. “It’s anchored, the lifeboat is missing, and the lights are off – which to me looks like the crew abandoned that ship, got onto that lifeboat and simply disappeared.”

“Typically, the owner probably didn’t pay its crew and they finally said, ‘We’re out of here,’ turned off the lights and engine, got on the lifeboat and headed to the nearest beach,” Mr Vreeken told The Tribune.

He said the vessel is easily seen from their pool deck, sitting among the yachts that typically anchor off Albany. He added that Defence Force officers appeared to board the ship last week. “On Thursday we went down again, and finally the Bahamian military came out,” he said. “Soldiers with M16 rifles searched the vessel, but they didn’t really do anything.”

Authorities have not confirmed whether the vessel is abandoned, whether any crew remains aboard, or whether the beached lifeboat is connected to the Caribbean Energy.