Incident Date: 2018-04-08 at 09:00
Event Type: Theft
Stolen Items: Outboard
Secured: Locked
Source Type: 2nd Hand Report
Incident Details: Overnight, an unoccupied (but locked and minded) yacht on a mooring was broken into, and the dinghy outboard engine stolen. The mooring line was cut and the boat had grounded nearby where it was discovered by cruisers. It is not known if a police report was made.
Incident Date: 2018-01-18 at 17:00
Event Type: Attempted Piracy
Stolen Items: n/a
Secured: N/A
Source Type: 1st Hand Report
Incident Details: A sailing yacht with 2 persons onboard departed Belize for Panama via Providencia. Off the Gordo Banks at 5PM at a position of 16*36.700N 082*17.280W they observed a small fishing boat with an enclosure on an intersecting course. They immediately altered course 90 degrees and noticed the small boat continued to attempt to follow. 2 other small fishing boats were spotted about 2-3 miles further away.||Listening to VHF they heard a discussion in Spanish about stealing a dingy (theirs was on the foredeck) and no other vessels were in the vicinity. The crew hailed a merchant vessel located about 15 nm away, and one of the small fishing boats made a false response, attempting to impersonate the merchant vessel. A private VHF DSC call was made to the merchant ship. Radar indicated that the small boats were unable to close the gap into difficult sea and wind conditions, and had fallen further out of range as it became dark. The yacht continued without lights or AIS transmit.||The next day VHF traffic in Spanish was overheard discussing "keeping a lookout for a white sailboat that got away last night".||The yacht continued to Providencia without further incident.
Incident Date: 2017-10-28 at 12:00
Event Type: Piracy
Stolen Items: cash,phone,GPS,computer,dive gear,fishing gear,food,medicine,rum and many small items
Secured: Not Locked
Source Type: 1st Hand Report
Incident Details: A single hander departed Livingston, Guatemala for Isla de Providencia, Colombia. At noon, when about 35 miles offshore of the Honduras/Nicaragua border he was boarded while motoring by 20 men in 3 pirogues.||The pirates did NOT display any weapons, but simply overran the yacht. The captain did not resist in any way. The pirates ransacked the yacht for about an hour. They “”””took everything””””, cash, phone, GPS, computer, dive gear, fishing gear, food, medicine, rum and many small items. The captain was able to negotiate with the leaders and was allowed to keep a navigational computer and a small GPS, as well as some jerry jugs of diesel. The pirates asked for drugs (there were none) before finally departing.||There were no injuries. The captain describes that damage to the yacht was out of ignorance, not malice. A report was made to Colombian officials in Providencia on arrival.
Incident Date: 2017-04-13 at 08:00
Event Type: Piracy
Stolen Items: VHF, SSB. EPIRB, flares, outboard engine, binoculars, smartphones, tools,security items, clothing, suitcases, toiletries and many more small items
Secured: Not Locked
Source Type: 1st Hand Report
Incident Details: A sailing vessel departed the Rio Dulce, Guatemala intending to visit Utila, Honduras. They were motor sailing in light winds and at 8:00 AM, they were about 10 miles off the coast and were boarded by pirates. 4 men boarded (2 armed with handguns) and 1 remained in the open fishing boat. ||The pirates were very aggressive, and fired their guns several times very close to the heads of the crew to ensure compliance. The crew spoke French and pretended not to "understand" while the boat was ransacked for about 1 hour. ||The pirates took everything they could, while taking no precautions to conceal their identities. Once satisfied with their haul they departed in the direction of the Honduran coast. ||There were no injuries to the crew. The yacht was able to make radio contact with the Puerto Cortes naval base and routed there to make reports to the Coast Guard, Police and Port Captain.
Incident Date: 2017-04-06 at 20:00
Event Type: Robbery
Stolen Items: Cash, iPads, cellphone, electronics, cameras, monitors, fuel tank, propane cylinder, plus more
Secured: Does not apply
Source Type: 1st Hand Report
Incident Details: A yacht with 2 persons onboard anchored off Graham's Place around 4PM , and visited the palapa ashore. They met a man who identified himself by name and then asked several questions about thier planned stay, and number of persons on board.||At 8 PM they were boarded by 4 armed men (3 – 9mm handguns, 1 rifle) ,wearing military style pants, 2 hooded, and all wearing ranger type boots. One of the men was the man they had met earlier at the palapa. The men demanded all things of value and threatened to kill the crew if they made any noise or resisited. The captain/crew complied, and the men departed with cash, electronics, iPads, cameras, cellphone, a gas tank, and a propane cylinder after threatening to return if any report was made.||A detailed report was made to the police and the port captain.
Incident Date: 2017-03-16 at 02:00
Event Type: Theft
Stolen Items: 85 HP outboard
Secured: Locked
Source Type: 2nd Hand Report
Incident Details: 85HP outboard engine locked on a panga was removed by thieves. An unsuccessful attempt was made to also remove a 15 HP outboard.
CSSN NOTE: a lifted (but not locked) panga with a well secured 40HP was stolen the same night from an adjacent dock.
Incident Date: 2017-03-16 at 01:10
Event Type: Theft
Stolen Items: 18 ft Panga with Yamaha 40 HP engine
Secured: Not Locked
Source Type: 1st Hand Report
Incident Details: A panga with a well secured 40 HP outboard was lifted at a private dock. Video surveillance from shore revealed that at 1:10 AM the thief unscrewed the light bulb on the dock, and then in darkness was able to use a box knife to cut the lifting strap, (damaging it) and releasing the panga. The 40HP outboard was visibly well secured to the panga, and would have required serious tools/effort to remove. The lifted panga was not secured to the dock. A report was made to the police and port captain.||CSSN NOTE: the same night a neighbor's locked 85 HP engine was removed from its panga on a nearby dock. The thief left evidence of using tools to remove the 85 HP, but was unsuccessful in an attempt to also remove a 15HP engine.
Incident Date: 2017-02-21 at 03:00
Event Type: Theft
Stolen Items: Dinghy and Mercury 5HP outboard. Dinghy was later found on the beach.
Secured: Not Locked
Source Type: 2nd Hand Report
Incident Details: Overnight an unlocked dinghy was taken from a yacht. A local dive shop discovered the dinghy on the beach and it was returned (minus the outboard) to the owners. No report was made.
Incident Date: 2017-01-19 at 10:00
Event Type: Piracy
Stolen Items: Computers, smartphone, cash, electronics, binocular , vhf and handheld radios, alcohol, clothing
Secured: Locked
Source Type: 1st Hand Report
Incident Details: A French flagged catamaran departed Isla Providencia (Colombia) for Rio Dulce, Guatemala on 1/18/2017 at 8 AM. Travelling well offshore the Nicaraguan coastline, they turned OFF their AIS transmitter but monitored all traffic closely. They noticed only a few cargo or fishing vessels.||At 0830 on the morning of the 19th, after traveling 175 nm, now located 70 nm off the Nicaraguan coast and 35 nm ESE of the Hobbies islands they were approached by a single panga from the north with 6-7 men who asked for water and food. They were provided. At 0900 the same panga returned asking for more, and a pack of cigarettes was given, while suddenly 2 more fishing boats with 40 HP outboards approached at high speed from the south with 6-7 additional men. They converged on the catamaran, rammed and boarded the yacht, now visibly armed with knives and iron bars. Some of the pirates beat the locked doors and gained entry to the cabin while the others scavenged on deck. The leaders seemed to be looking for drugs, but found none. The pirates took computers, a smartphone, cash, assorted electronics, binoculars, VHF and handheld radios, alcohol, clothing, anything that they could grab or remove. After about an hour they departed.||Using a previously hidden VHF the crew made contact with a nearby merchant cargo ship which then contacted the Colombian navy and piracy agency while diverting in their direction. At 1030 AM a single panga returned with a mixed group of 8 of the youngest of the original pirates and again boarded, holding knives to the throats of the crew, this time attempting to sever the locked to the yacht dinghy/outboard. They were not successful and became nervous when they heard a VHF transmission from the approaching cargo vessel. The second group of pirates departed. The crew again made radio contact with the cargo vessel who took all necessary information and agreed to inform Colombian officials, the yacht declined further assistance and both vessels returned to their intended courses. The yacht proceeded to Guanaja, Honduras without further incident. They arrived on Friday January 20, and began the process of filing official reports with the police, port captain, Honduran navy and piracy agencies. Much had been stolen, there was damage to the yacht, but no injuries.
Incident Date: 2017-01-19 at 20:00
Event Type: Piracy
Stolen Items: iPads, electronics, rum
Secured: Not Locked
Source Type: 1st Hand Report
Incident Details: Preliminary Report : Chris Parker has provided the following information from a Weather Center subscribing yacht currently transiting from west Panama to the Yucatan. The yacht was boarded late on the 19th off Gordo Bank by pirates who seemed to be looking for drugs. Finding none, they took iPads, small electronics and rum. No injuries. No further information is currently available but a detailed report is expected once the yacht reaches its destination.||CSSN UPDATE 2017-01-26: Victims have provided a detailed FIRST HAND REPORT:|A 40 ft. monohull sailing from Panama passed over Gorda Banks at night with their AIS turned off. Passing Gorda Cay, they saw several fair sized fishing boats at the cay. A couple of hours later as they were exiting the banks about 10 miles NW of Gorda Cay, a panga tried to approach but was not able to overtake them, they were sailing quite fast.||The too-slow panga left but the men returned in a larger panga. Seeming friendly, they were fairly young and asked for food. They wouldn't leave the yacht alone, came close and were thrown a pineapple. They seemed happy and went away. A while later, another panga with several young men caught up with the yacht and asked for liquor. They were persistent but friendly and were tossed a six pack of beer. They also went away seeming happy. Then a third panga with a few men came asking for liquor. They were told they didn't have any and were tossed a melon. They went away.||Meanwhile the crew had texted friends using their Delorme InReach satellite texting system, alerting them that they were being pursued and didn't know if these were just desperate fishermen or pirates. At about 12 noon 4 pangas with a total of about 30 men approached and the crew activated the DSC distress signals on the SSB and VHF. Their InReach contact alerted the US Coast Guard in Baltimore, MD, to the changing situation.|The pirates signaled for everyone to put their hands up as they boarded. The lead panga carrying a man they all called "Boss" came alongside, bumping against the hull, and demanded in Spanish that they stop the engine. Faced with overwhelming force, they turned more into the wind and slowed down but pleaded ignorance as to their understanding of Spanish.||Several men boarded the boat. One had a knife that he continuously tapped on top of the chartplotter at the helm. One of the other men spoke some English and told the crew he wanted his men to go below and "inspect" the boat. He was told that only 2 at a time could go down, but several went down anyway. They turned off the SSB and VHF distress signals and ransacked the boat. They opened every cupboard and floorboard presumably looking for drugs. The English speaking pirate reported to ""Boss"" and when they found no drugs, the pirates down below took whatever they wanted, the most valuable of which included an iPad, a GPS, foul weather gear and shoes. Oddly, they did not ask for money. The "Boss" told them to finish up and the English speaking pirate made the crew shake hands as if this were a normal business transaction. The pirates motored away, and the crew continued sailing onward.||The crew was grateful that they were not harmed. Official reports to authorities will be made after the yacht reaches the US mainland.
