Passengers Rescued After Water Taxi Runs Aground Near San Pedro

38 passengers and 2 crew members of a San Pedro Belize Express Water Taxi vessels are relieved today, after what can be described as a frightening and extremely unsettling experience last night.  Just after seven o’clock last night, the vessel, dubbed, The International Star, ran aground due to an unforeseen steering system failure. The vessel had just departed the San Pedro International terminal enroute to Caye Caulker when the captain began experiencing steering issues. As a result, the vessel made contact with the western coastline of San Pedro and ran aground.  Quick response from the nearby Belize Coast Guard (BCG) base at the San Pedro headquarters, ensured that the area was secured and the 40 persons aboard the vessel were medically examined and promptly evacuated.   Love News spoke with Lieutenant Mark Choc, the BCG’s Operations Officer who gave further insight in last night’s rescue mission.  

Lt. Mark Choc, Operations Manager, Belize Coast Guard: “Last night, the Coast Guard in San Pedro, they received information from a local fisherman who arrived on the base reporting of an accident that he saw about one mile west of the Coast Guard base. So the Coast Guard quickly deployed to assess the situation on the information that was received. And when they arrived on the scene, they observed a vessel that had ran aground about one mile west of the Belize Coast Guard San Pedro base. When the Coast Guard arrived on the scene they observed a vessel that belongs to the San Pedro Water Taxi Company. The vessel was high and dry. It appears to be that the vessel was trying to enter the channel, but somehow ended up on the island. Based on the reports that I received, the initial assessment on the ground is that the crew were well safe. There’s no serious injuries observed on the scene.”

Lieutenant Choc advised that quick response from the six-person team was not an unusual occurrence as it is standard protocol for the Belize Coast Guard to respond to these incidents in a timely manner regardless of the distance.

Lt. Mark Choc, Operations Manager, Belize Coast Guard: “We are mandated to respond to these types of situations based on our mandate of search and rescue. In these types of accidents lives can be lost and a quick response is priority and it must be done effectively. So the Coast Guard tries to maintain a 15-minute response time in case we receive any distress situation like this. We were able to reach in the area within five mints of receiving the information.”

There were no serious injuries reported as a result of this incident.  San Pedro Belize Express Limited, in a statement issued today, noted that the vessel had recently undergone an inspection by the Belize Port Authority for its seaworthy certificate. They advised that they will also be conducting a full internal and technical investigation which will include a detailed assessment of the vessel and a review of the steering system.