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Oct 24, 2022

Coast Guard Boston Whaler Goes Up in Smoke on Dry Land

The Belize Coast Guard is one boat short of an entire fleet of patrol vessels.  That’s because on Saturday night, a thirty-eight foot Boston Whaler, outfitted with three, two hundred and fifty horsepower outboard engines, was gutted by fire.  It’s a massive loss for the maritime law enforcement agency which is investigating the fire, along with its counterparts, to determine whether the blaze was deliberately set.  News Five’s Isani Cayetano reports.

 

Isani Cayetano, Reporting

A coast guard vessel, donated to the Government of Belize by the United States Embassy in 2012, was destroyed by fire over the weekend.  The patrol craft was dry-docked at the Belize Coast Guard’s headquarters when it went up in flames on Saturday night.  Vice Commandant, Captain Greg Soberanis:

 

Gregory Soberanis

Captain Gregory Soberanis, Vice Commandant, Belize Coast Guard

“Just after eight p.m., one of our Boston Whaler vessels was seen of fire by duty personnel who were on shift at the time.  It was reported to the command duty officer, that is the person who is responsible for the base and all those who work duties and initial efforts were made by coast guard members who were there to put out the fire.  The fire, unfortunately, got beyond their control where the fire department was called, as well as the police department.  And I must express our gratitude, our sincere gratitude to the fire department and the police department who responded quickly and promptly to the scene.”

 

A joint investigation into the cause of the fire is underway. Of the many theories that are being put forward, police believe that the blaze may have been the result of someone attempting to siphon fuel from the boat.

 

ACP Alden Dawson, Head, N.C.I.B.

“The information is that an officer from the coast guard may have lit this boat or may have had an accident whilst we believe that he was extracting fuel from the boat.  According to the coast guard official, the boat is valued at over half a million dollars and the matter is being investigated.”

 

An initial report on the incident described what took place as an act of arson. The Belize Coast Guard says that a pair of officers on duty observed suspicious activity near the vessel.  When they inquired, they reportedly saw Emmanuel McFadzean, another of their colleagues inside the patrol boat.

 

Greg Soberanis

“We do have a rotation cycle for the vessels where they come in to do servicing and maintenance. So the boat was not in the water at the time, it was dry-docked for its servicing and maintenance schedule. The police, fire department, and our investigation unit are currently undergoing that portion of the investigation to determine what really and truly cause of the fire was. We know at this point [that] the personnel who were on duty saw an individual on the vessel a few minutes prior to the blaze or the fire. That particular individual is a person of interest and is currently detained by the police for questioning.”

 

It’s a significant loss for the Belize Coast Guard which is operating across the breadth of Belize’s sea space on a small fleet of vessels.

 

Greg Soberanis

“This is definitely a significant loss for us as it relates to the vessel being a part of our operational fleet. However, we do have additional vessels that we will be incorporating into the deployment rotation. So while the vessel is a significant loss for us we are prepared to deal with eventualities such as these.”

 

Reporter

“Can you talk about the loss in terms of dollar figures?”

 

Greg Soberanis

“This particular vessel, in its total package, valued just over three hundred and thirty-two thousand U.S. dollars.  So it’s quite a significant amount of money that was invested into the acquisition of this Boston Whaler.”

 

Isani Cayetano for News Five.


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