BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – A St. Vincent and the Grenadines-registered cargo vessel, MV Ellitta 1, sailed out of Port St. Kitts early Thursday morning (Mar. 10) for St. Maarten, after being subjected to an intensive three-day search by members of the Federation’s security forces.
According to the Public Affairs Officer of the St. Kitts and Nevis Defence Force Captain Kayode Sutton, members of the Coast Guard, the Police Force and the Custom and Excise Department had conducted a detailed search of the vessel over the period March 7-9 but no illegal goods or substance was found on board.
“All cargo on board was offloaded from the vessel to facilitate the search and was later reloaded onto the ship,” Sutton said.
He noted that while the Ellitta 1 was off the coast of St. Kitts and Nevis on Monday morning (Mar. 7), it aroused the suspicion of a French Naval vessel in transit off the Federation.
“The French ship hailed the Ellitta, which gave her destination as St. Kitts. The local Coast Guard was alerted to the presence of the suspect vessel and requested the French to escort her into Basseterre. Local law enforcement and Customs officials met the Ellitta escorted by the French vessel upon their arrival in the Basseterre roadstead,” Sutton said.
Sutton added that on board the 40-metre long vessel were agricultural produce and a 14-member crew – 13 of whom are from St. Vincent and the Grenadines and the other from St. Kitts and Nevis.
He also noted that the three-day search was time consuming because of the heat. Sniffer dogs were used in the operation and the security forces’ members did a thorough job and were satisfied with their findings.
“The security agencies in the Federation remain committed to ensuring the maritime integrity of the Federation and the safety of all. This operation demonstrated the good network and the collaborative effort with our regional and international partners in combating illegal activities in the maritime areas under our jurisdiction,” Captain said.
