As part of operations to control the sea and defend national sovereignty, Colombian Navy units detected a Honduran-flagged ship engaged in unauthorized fishing in Colombian territorial waters near Cayo Serranilla Island.
Crew members of the Coast Guard Station of San Andrés and the Oceanic patrol ARC 20 de Julio immediately went to the place, in order to verify the situation. However, the ship identified as Miss Babs ignored the calls of the members of the Military Forces and undertook evasive maneuvers to leave the Colombian territorial sea, abandoning the crew members, in several smaller cayuco-type (rudimentary) boats, which were in the area.
Immediately, the units of the Naval Institution rescued 22 people, including a minor, on board six cayucos. When searching troops found 32 diving tanks and six rudimentary harpoons, among other items.
The rescued personnel were taken on board the ARC 20 de Julio and transported to San Andrés, where they were put into custody of the authorities for the corresponding procedures. In the same way, the fishing was given to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and the Corporation for Sustainable Development - CORALINA.
It should be noted that the Naval Institution filed a denunciation with the Attorney General's Office.
The Colombian Navy, through the Caribbean Naval Force and the Specific Command of San Andrés and Providencia, reaffirms its commitment to the protection of the Seaflower Biosphere Reserve and to the people of the island and raizal fishermen, working for the preservation of sea resources and security in the island territory.
Source: Press - Navy of Colombia
