The Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) has responded to the controversial seizure of the Motor Vessel EOLIKA which has been detained by Senegalese Custom authorities after approximately US$5 million worth of illegal arms and ammunition were found onboard.
According to Senegalese authorities, the vessel bears a Guyanese registration number, however even that had supposedly expired on 10 December 2021.
However, in defending MARAD’s involvement in the matter, the agency had disclosed that the vessel is not on the local ships’ registry and it believes that the documents were issued by the International Maritime Safety Agency of Guyana (IMSAG), an entity which the agency says it severed ties with since 13 August 2021.
According to MARAD, after severing ties with IMSAG, they took steps to notify all regional and international bodies that the two would no longer be working together.
MARAD further went on to state that they had also issued warnings as to the veracity of documents issued by IMSAG following the termination of their working arrangements. It is also being reported by MARAD that several vessels who may have had involvement with IMSAG have been detained in various ports for false registration documents.
