The Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard on Thursday 7 April said they discovered the body of one (1) deceased male aboard the overturned MV Fair Chance.
The Vincentian registered vessel went down in waters off Trinidad on Saturday 2 April.
In a release, the TTCG said the body was subsequently handed over to the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service for further investigation.
TTCG says they remain committed to continuing searches, in conjunction with partner agencies, for the remaining missing persons.
Two crew members were rescued on Saturday, while five others were feared trapped inside the vessel.
MV FAIR CHANCE TIMELINE
St Vincent registered vessel, MV Fair Chance, sinks in Trinidad waters
April 2
Several crew members are now missing after the MV Fair Chance went down in waters between Trinidad and Grenada sometime after 3 pm on Saturday 2 April.
According to information obtained by the St Vincent Times, the vessel’s crew includes persons from Union Island, Carriacou and Grenada.
The latest information states that two are accounted for of the seven crew members, a Vincentian and a Grenadian. The others are feared trapped in the vessel.
On Saturday night MP for the Southern Grenadines Terrance Ollivierre told St Vincent Times the following.
“The bottom of the boat is on top of the water, while the top is beneath the water. Two survived; I was told they were sitting on top of the boat. I was advised they were rescued by a powerboat from Trinidad that was making its way down from the Tobago Keys to Trinidad. The Coast Guard would have been notified following the rescue of the two crew members”.
The captain of the boat is Dexter Chance. The MV Fair Chance is a St Vincent and the Grenadines registered vessel.
MV Fair Chance: 2 crew members receive medicals in Trinidad, 5 still missing
April 3rd Update #1
As of Sunday 3 April, five of the seven crew members who were said to be onboard the MV Fair Chance, a St Vincent registered vessel, is still missing.
According to information obtained by the St Vincent Times, the vessel’s crew includes persons from Union Island, Carriacou and Grenada.
On Sunday, Guardian Media Trinidad identified one of the crew members as Eric Calliste. Calliste is said to be one of the five crew members still missing and feared trapped in the overturned vessel.
Trinidad Coast Guard on Saturday, in a release, said at about 3.40 pm, the TTCG received a report of an overturned vessel with seven people on board some five nautical miles North of Monos Island.
“The vessel named Fair Chance, which is from St Vincent and the Grenadines encountered rough north coast seas and subsequently overturned due to a shift of the cargo on board. The release stated that two of the seven people on board were rescued by a passing vessel, handed over to the TTCG, and taken to Staubles Bay for medical treatment”.
It added that the TTCG has since deployed assets currently involved in rescue operations with the Fair Chance vessel.
On Saturday night, MP for Southern Grenadines Terrance Ollivierre told St Vincent Times that a powerboat making its way down from the Tobago Keys to Trinidad rescued the two men.
Guardian Media Trinidad also reported that the vessel was loaded with steel from the Caricom port in Port of Spain and had just departed en route to St Vincent and the Grenadines when the incident happened.
According to information obtained by the publication, it is believed that the vessel may have been overloaded.
The MV Fair Chance is a St Vincent Registered vessel; according to information, it was captained by Dexter Chance at the time of the incident.
T&T Coast Guard searches as MV Fair Chance drifts towards Venezuela
April 3rd update #2
A search and rescue operation by the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard is underway to find the five missing crew members of the Vincentian registered vessel, the MV Fair Chance, which overturned in Trinidad and Tobago waters on Saturday.
Speaking on I95 FM, Trinidad’s Minister of National Security, Fitzgerald Hinds, confirmed an active search is taking place using local assets.
“Overnight there were some challenges as the vessel was being moved around by the waves. However, the operation continues and has been shifted towards the Venezuelan jurisdiction”.
Hinds said contact had been made with Venezuelan authorities, and they have played their part as all nations have obligations when it comes to search and rescue.
“I am aware from the latest report I have, that the Trinidad Coast Guard is mustering all the help and support we need to bring the vessel safely to shore so that further investigations and life would continue”.
Trinidad Coast Guard on Saturday, in a release, said at about 3.40 pm, the TTCG received a report of an overturned vessel with seven people on board some five nautical miles North of Monos Island.
“The vessel named Fair Chance, which is from St Vincent and the Grenadines encountered rough north coast seas and subsequently overturned due to a shift of the cargo on board. The release stated that two of the seven people on board were rescued by a passing vessel, handed over to the TTCG, and taken to Staubles Bay for medical treatment”.
Guardian Media Trinidad on Sunday reported that the vessel was loaded with steel from the Caricom port in Port of Spain and had just departed en route to St Vincent and the Grenadines when the incident happened.
According to information obtained by the publication, it is believed that the vessel may have been overloaded.
The MV Fair Chance is a St Vincent Registered vessel and was captained by Dexter Chance at the time of the incident.
Union Island plunged into mourning-MP
April 3 update #3
MP for the Southern Grenadines Terrance Ollivierre says Union Island has been plunged into mourning, as five crew members of the MV Fair Chance, which went down in waters off Trinidad on Saturday 2 April, are still missing at sea.
A press release issued by the Trinidad Coast Guard on Saturday, 2 April, stated that the vessel named Fair Chance, which is from St Vincent and the Grenadines, encountered rough north coast seas and subsequently overturned due to a shift of the cargo on board, five nautical miles North of Monos Island.
Speaking to Trinidad radio I95 FM, Ollivierre said the crew members who are missing include Captain Dexter Chance, Owen Prescott, Quincy Baptiste, Eric Calliste and another man said to be Grenadian. Those rescued are Vincentian Derriol Smalls and Jonel Mc Intosh a Grenadian.
“What I can tell you now, and what I do know, is that Union Island is in mourning and a large cross-section of the island was heartbroken when they received the news.
“I spoke to the Captain’s wife; so far, she is very distraught as to what has happened”.
Captain Dexter ‘parrot’ Chance is originally from Gouyave, Grenada; however, he has been living on Union Island.
Ollivierre told I95 that the sinking of the vessel was indeed tragic.
On Sunday, a Grenadian publication, THE NEW TODAY, said that Chance became the owner of the MV Fair Chance, which was registered in St Vincent within the past year and was running the Union Island/St Vincent/Trinidad route.
In Trinidad, Minister of National Security Fitzgerald Hinds said there is an active search using local assets.
“On Saturday night, there were some challenges as the vessel was being moved around by the waves. However, the operation continued and shifted towards the Venezuelan jurisdiction”.
“I am aware from the latest report that the Trinidad Coast Guard is mustering all the help and support we need to bring the vessel safely to shore so that further investigations and life would continue”.
Guardian Media Trinidad on Sunday reported that the vessel was loaded with steel from the CARICOM port in Port of Spain and had just departed en route to St Vincent and the Grenadines when the incident happened.
According to information obtained by the publication, it is believed that the vessel may have been overloaded.
Reports from Union Island are that several residents suffered substantial financial losses as they had drinks and other goods on board for the upcoming Easter Holidays.
MV Fair Chance is being towed to Trinidad
April 4
The MV Fair Chance, the Vincentian registered vessel that went down in waters off Trinidad on Saturday, 2 April, is being pulled to safety.
Southern Grenadines MP Terrance Ollivierre on Monday afternoon told St Vincent Times that they are awaiting completion of the operation.
“A tug is pulling the boat into shallow waters; this has been ongoing since this morning. It is done at a pace to minimize anything falling out that may still be trapped inside”.
“So we are all on the island waiting in great anticipation”.
Two of the MV Fair Chance vessel crew members were rescued on Saturday by a passing powerboat and taken to Trinidad.
In a statement, Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard (TTCG) said that with the assistance of Venezuelan authorities, they are hoping to find the other five crew members alive.
Towing proved unsuccessful, 5 still missing
April 4 Update #2
Vincentian flagged vessel the MV Fair Chance which overturned on the north coast of Trinidad on Saturday 2nd April 2022, remains adrift at sea, with five crew members still missing.
In a release on Monday evening, the Trinidad Coast Guard said the SAR operation that ensued to tow the vessel into shallower and calmer waters proved unsuccessful, due to the size and weight of the vessel. Consequently, the vessel drifted some distance into Venezuelan waters.
“The TTCG has ensured that the vessel continues to be monitored in case any of the missing persons that may have been trapped on board is able to make their way out of the vessel and also as a safety precaution to prevent other vessels from colliding with it. However, up to the current time, none of the missing persons has been seen or detected”.
TTGG says the drift of the vessel into Venezuelan waters has caused the TTCG to establish and maintain liaison with Venezuelan authorities to facilitate the presence of a TTCG vessel alongside Fair Chance.
On Sunday 3rd April 2022, the owners of the vessel, with the assistance of the TTCG, were able to arrange a tug boat that made its way into Venezuelan waters and rendezvoused with the TTCG vessel which was on watch with Fair Chance.
At approximately 4 pm on Sunday, the Tug boat began slowly and carefully towing the Fair Chance back into Trinidad and Tobago waters.
“This operation is challenging and taking some time because the vessel is partially submerged whilst being upside down, sea conditions are rough, and the direction of the tow is against the predominantly western current”, the release said.
“The intent is to take the vessel into calmer and shallower waters in the Gulf of Paria so that divers can commence searches inside of the overturned vessel”, the release further stated.
April 7 Bodies retrieved from the MV Fair Chance
