Three Moruga fishermen are thanking their lucky stars after surviving a brutal attack by Spanish-speaking robbers on the high seas on Monday night. The men left the La Rufin Fishing Port on Monday around 4.30 pm and returned yesterday morning, nursing head wounds and bruises on their bodies.
Reports state that 40-year-old Kasey Primus, his son, 21-year-old Kewayne, and a colleague, Nigel Cordomo, 21, were aboard the pirogue Simplicity, approximately 21 miles off the coast of Moruga. While waiting to haul in their catch around 8.30 pm, another vessel pulled alongside and four gunmen emerged and fired several shots into the air.
The fishermen said they were beaten and robbed of a Yamaha 25-horsepower engine valued at $30,000, a container of gasoline and other fishing supplies. The assailants left them drifting in the waters and shortly after 6 am yesterday they were rescued by fellow fishermen and brought to shore. They were taken for treatment at the Moruga Health Centre.
Speaking from his Happy Hill home in Basse Terre, Moruga, Kasey Primus said he suspected that one of the pirates was local as he spoke in Trinidadian dialect. However, he said due to the darkness and the constant flashing of lights in their eyes, he could not get a proper view of the attackers. Primus said it was becoming increasingly dangerous for fishermen who venture near Venezuelan waters to fish.
He suggested that government should press for a fishing agreement with Venezuela to help protect the local fishermen. "I am just glad to be alive.They stole my engine but an engine don't bleed. But it really shook up my son and his friend because they are young fellas and it was their first experience," he said.
He explained they had just thrown their net in the water and were waiting for a catch when they observed a boat on their net. He said after shinning his torchlight to see what was happening, the vessel came closer and the men emerged with large guns and immediately began to beat them.
However, Primus said he could not allow the ordeal to deter him from going to sea, as fishing was his only means of supporting his family and sending his children to school. "If I get an engine I will go back tonight. I can't let this be an obstacle because my children have to go to school. I would not like it to happen again," he said. Investigations are continuing.
On June 25, 2011, fisherman Kyrool Mohammed and his brother Nazir Hosein, were attacked by cutlass-wielding pirates who beat and robbed them of their boat engine and other items including their foodstuff. They were left tied up and drifting in the waters off the Shore of Peace, Mosquito Creek, South Oropouche near the Godineau River. This incident was one of many involving local fishermen and pirates on the high seas.
