Assault - The Caribbean Safety and Security Net

3018 – Assault in Honduras – Roatan – Coxen Hole

Incident Date: 2023-04-18 at 02:30

Event Type: Assault

Stolen Items: Cash, backpack, cellphone

Secured: Not Locked

Source Type: 1st Hand Report

Incident Details: A yacht anchored alone in Coxen Hole. On the second night at 0230HRS two masked and armed men boarded through the lit cockpit/open companionway. They proceeded to tie the crew at gunpoint with braided shoelaces they had brought with them and covered their victim’s face with a tshirt. They ransacked the forward cabin briefly and took cash, a phone and a backpack they had emptied. The boarders spoke a non-Spanish local language and were onboard for only 3-5 minutes before leaving the scene with their accomplices in a panga. The crew was not injured. ||A police report was made. No forensics were collected.||The yacht departed later the same day.

April 18, 2023

3011 – Assault in Panama – Portobello

Incident Date: 2023-03-26 at 00:15

Event Type: Assault

Stolen Items: nothing of value

Secured: Not Locked

Source Type: 1st Hand Report

Incident Details: PRELIMINARY REPORT – A yacht crew was awoken by their dog when they were boarded by 2 men armed with guns and knives. A fight ensued, and the 3 crew sustained numerous cuts and bruises. The thieves departed without anything of value. A VHF call for assistance was made, with no response. The local police were called but were slow to respond. No further details are currently available.||CSSN NOTE: We will update this report when victims are able to make a firsthand report.||UPDATED REPORT :||This report has been updated with the assistance of the victims. ||At 0015HRS on their second night in the bay, the three crew onboard an anchored monohull were boarded and assaulted by 2 masked/hooded men, one armed with a gun. They awoke to their dog barking as the men entered through the unlocked companionway. A vigorous fight ensued in both the salon and cockpit as the crew attempted to defend themselves with their fists and a winch handle. Two times the masked gunman attempted to discharge his semiautomatic handgun at the crew, but it failed to fire. The two ejected cartridges were recovered later, and showed no dents in the casings. || The 2 assailants abandoned the fight and departed when they realized they were outnumbered and unable to successfully fire their semiautomatic handgun. They had been onboard for about 5 minutes. They jumped into the water, leaving behind the kayak they had stolen earlier from another yacht. The bloodied crew was badly shaken and made multiple calls for help on VHF16, but there was no response. They sounded a loud alarm and began yelling from the deck, but no one anchored or ashore made any response to their calls for help. Phone calls to the police went unanswered. They treated their injuries and waited for daylight. ||Later that day a police report was made with assistance ashore from a local business. The crew learned that the police website information was incorrect and had not been updated. The yacht departed to Linton Bay where their yacht was searched the next morning by the police with assistance from Aeronaval. No forensics were collected. That night at 2230HRs a large contingent of officers returned with a court order and again searched the victims yacht very thoroughly for several hours. Again, no forensics were collected. ||A report was made to the captain’s home country consulate, and the victims departed Panama.

March 26, 2023

2976 – Assault in Saint Martin (France) – Marigot Bay

Incident Date: 2023-02-07 at 00:30

Event Type: Assault

Stolen Items: phones and electronics

Secured: N/A

Source Type: 2nd Hand Report

Incident Details: A yacht was boarded by 3 men armed with guns armed at 0030HRS. The family was robbed of phones and electronics. The captain was pistol whipped. ||The police were contacted, but were unable to provide timely transport so the victims used their own dinghy and proceeded immediately to the hospital for medical treatment. A full police report was made. ||No further details are currently available.||CSSN NOTE: If you are a victim , or encounter a victim, please encourage a (firsthand) CSSN report. The online form is available here, and privacy is assured.

February 7, 2023

2943 – Assault in Saint Lucia – Pitons

Incident Date: 2022-12-18 at 03:00

Event Type: Assault

Stolen Items: Mobile phones (other : unknown, to be updated)

Secured: N/A

Source Type: 2nd Hand Report

Incident Details: PRELIMINARY REPORT : At 0300HRS a charter catamaran on a SMMA park mooring at Pitons was boarded by six(6) men armed with machetes and robbed of cellphones , plus other items tbd. It is not known if there were any injuries. A report was made to the SMMA park rangers. Further details expected when the charter returns to its base on Monday, 19 December.||CSSN UPDATE : 19 December – The charter company has refused to provide any details or contact information for the victims. If you are a victim, please complete the CSSN online incident report so that others can understand the facts about what did/did not occur. ||This is the 5th reported violent incident in the Soufriere/Pitons area in the last 5 months, see CSSN incidents 2894, 2897, 2876 and 2848. ||Patrols are reported to have been recently put in place, but were clearly not an effective deterrent in this latest case.

December 18, 2022

2894 – Assault in Saint Lucia – Soufriere

Incident Date: 2022-10-06 at 00:30

Event Type: Assault

Stolen Items: phone, tablet computer and clothing

Secured: Not Locked

Source Type: 1st Hand Report

Incident Details: A cruising couple on their yacht on an SMMA mooring were awoken and boarded at 0030HRS by 4 masked/hooded men with knives and machetes. The thieves stole electronics (phone,tablet,computer) and personal items (clothing). The crew was not injured. A police report was made, no forensics were taken.||CSSN NOTE: approximately one month ago a similar incident was reported at this location, see 2876 .

October 6, 2022

2876 – Assault in Saint Lucia – Soufriere

Incident Date: 2022-08-26 at 02:15

Event Type: Assault

Stolen Items: A small amount of cash

Secured: Not Locked

Source Type: 1st Hand Report

Incident Details: At 0215HRS a yacht on an SMMA mooring for its 3rd night was boarded by armed thieves. One of the assailants came thru an open hatch and then entered the salon where a female crew member was awake, and she began yelling. He attempted to silence her with a hand over her mouth and attempted to stuff a rag in her mouth and then began choking her, as she continued to struggle and yelled. A second crew member (male) awoke and it became violent and louder as many blows were exchanged. A second assailant entered thru the companionway and began assaulting the crew as well. The activity woke a third male crew member who came from the V berth, with crew now outnumbering the intruders 3 to 2. At this point the intruders jumped overboard and swam toward shore. || A knife that belonged to one of the intruders was found on the salon floor. The crew was well bloodied, and the intruders left behind significant blood as well. The crew chose to treat their own injuries. A small amount of cash had been taken, and the cover on the cockpit chart plotter had been removed. ||Reports were made to the police, Coast Guard and SMMA authorities. No forensics were taken.

August 26, 2022

2785 – Assault in Panama – Linton Bay Marina

Incident Date: 2022-04-19 at 22:00

Event Type: Assault

Stolen Items: None

Secured: N/A

Source Type: 1st Hand Report

Incident Details: The owner/captain of a cruising yacht docked for one night at the Linton Bay Marina, and was ashore having dinner at the restaurant when it began to rain at about 2200HRS. He returned to his boat to close the hatches and was overtaken by 4-5 men who were lying-in-wait in darkness inside. They had already searched the boat, and immediately wrestled him to the floor, and then held an automatic weapon to his head and began to demand "the drugs" they believed he had brought from the San Blas. Once a phone camera was shined in his face a third party seemed to conclude he was the wrong person.||The captain sustained minor injuries and was warned to remain quiet and on the floor. The men departed after about 15 minutes in their small launcha that was tied alongside. Nothing was stolen. After some time the captain returned to the restaurant and reported the incident.||Reports were made to the Linton Bay Marina management, the Navy/Coast Guard (Aeronaval) and the police. The victim was told the only security cameras at the marina were pointed at the restaurant and not the dock.

April 19, 2022

2737 – Assault in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines – St. Vincent – Buccament Bay

Incident Date: 2022-01-16 at 02:30

Event Type: Assault

Stolen Items: Camera, computer, cash, phone

Secured: Not Locked

Source Type: 1st Hand Report

Incident Details: Two yachts were the only visiting yachts anchored in Buccament Bay, St. Vincent. On the second night of their stay, the singlehanded captain/owner of one of the yachts awoke when he was being choked by 1 of 2 men who had boarded through a closed but not locked companionway. After the attackers displayed a gun to ensure cooperation a cloth/hood was placed over the captains head and he was tied up. The thieves ransacked the boat taking cash and electronics (phone, computer, camera). The thieves seemed unprepared to take the lifted and chain locked dinghy from it davits. They departed in an unpowered boat, which authorities indicated may have been stolen from a nearby bay. ||A call was made on VHF 16 and a lighthouse station responded, and then contacted the Coast Guard, who arrived promptly and also contacted the police. The police arrived promptly to take a report, but no forensics were collected. ||CSSN NOTE: The thieves had attempted to board the other yacht earlier the same night, but were not successful when the owners awoke and were able to discourage the two men. VHF calls to their buddy boat (victim above), were not answered.

January 16, 2022

2678 – Assault in Mexico – Cancun – Punta Nizuc

Incident Date: 2021-09-06 at 21:30

Event Type: Assault

Stolen Items: 10' AB aluminum bottom dinghy, 15HP Yamaha 2 stroke outboard (15FMH), spare fuel tank, cash, portable West Marine VHF, GoPro camera, headlamp, medicines and ointments, and other items.

Secured: Does not apply

Source Type: 1st Hand Report

Incident Details: Owners anchored their catamaran at 1800HRS just south of Cancun, Mexico, in the bay of Punta Nizuc. Family members were watching a movie with all lights out at 2130HRS when three men with spear guns appeared in the cockpit and began screaming for money and food. ||The crew cooperated, giving the masked men money and food items. They took a knife and held it out while yelling orders. They tied up both adults on the floor and then tied the children nearby. They threatened to throw them overboard while still tied, but did not physically harm anyone. The men ransacked the boat – breaking the VHF, a flashlight, and GPS display. ||After collecting what they wanted the men departed in the yacht's dinghy. The crew was able to untie themselves, and they recovered a backpack accidentally left behind in the cockpit that contained their cell phones and other valuables. It is believed the men arrived by paddle board or kayak as they were silent and wet. ||A report was made to the Police and the Port Captain.

September 6, 2021

2480 – Assault in Colombia – Bahia de Barbacoas

Incident Date: 2020-03-30 at 23:50

Event Type: Assault

Stolen Items: Dinghy/outboard, fuel tank and fuel line,fenders

Secured: Locked

Source Type: 1st Hand Report

Incident Details: A foreign flagged monohull with 4 persons onboard was the lone yacht anchored in Bahia de Barbacoas (south of Cartagena) for 5 nights. The dinghy was hoisted on a halyard to deck height. At about midnight the crew heard voices and discovered that 3 men with machetes from a small fishing boat had boarded. ||The crew locked themselves inside an interior cabin and the captain turned on deck lights and yelled. One intruder came into the yacht and attempted to get into the locked cabin, and another managed to hit the captain on the head with the flat side of his machete thru a hatch. The intruders slashed the halyard, and took the dinghy/outboard and some fenders from a foredeck locker. Shore side, a very bright spotlight was shone on the confrontation and the thieves departed. ||The captain set off a red parachute flare and noticed the dinghy adrift nearby. They upped anchor and retrieved it, the thieves had damaged the locked outboard while trying to remove it, but were not successful. ||The Armada Nacional (coast guard) was contacted by those on shore and arrived promptly and escorted the yacht to anchor in Los Rosarios but instructed them not to stay overnight as they could not guarantee safety. The yacht and crew were granted sanctuary despite port closure and accepted into Santa Marta marina later that day, where a medic provided treatment for the head wound.

March 30, 2020

Tag: Assault Archives