Reported Incident Details from Honduras
An incident of Suspicious Activity has been reported in Honduras – Offshore06.
| Incident Date | 2019-12-05 at 14:00 |
| Event Type | Suspicious Activity |
| Stolen Items | none |
| Secured | N/A |
| Source Type | 1st Hand Report |
| Incident Details | A yacht transiting from San Andreas, Colombia to Roatan, Honduras lost its engine and altered its planned offshore course, and tracked along the outer eastern/northern edge of the Gorda banks. Having sighted many fishing vessels during the passage, who took no interest in the yacht, around noon the crew became aware of a suspicious 60 ft. steel fishing vessel at position 16-23N 83-09W. ||The fishing vessel first passed in front of the yacht and then turned abruptly altering course and thereafter matched its track and speed to the changing course of the yacht for over an hour. No fishing gear or fishing activity was evident. A second large fishing vessel arrived and proceeded directly towards the yacht (also no fishing gear or fishing activity visible) and in what appeared to be coordinated activity, together they “boxed” the yacht, coming within about ½ mile of the yacht as the yacht continued to alter their westward course. || A VHF16 mayday call was made by the captain, but not answered. The 2 fishing vessels continued to track and box the yacht. After about 15 minutes a container ship appeared on the horizon and the captain made VHF16 contact with the ships officer, and described the situation. The 2 suspect fishing vessels became aware of the container ship and suddenly altered their course away from the yacht, turning from the westward course and began heading at full speed south in the direction of the Honduran coast. The container ships officer indicated he would file a report, and the yacht captain made a complete report (including photos) to the Port Captain in Roatan. |