Several fishermen from across Berbice had their boat engines stolen after pirates struck on Tuesday night at the Albion foreshore and some were thrown overboard while others were left to drift.

Two boats with four fishermen were hijacked, with one of the boats being taken by the pirates who left the fishermen in the river. Three others from Sheet Anchor were also robbed; one engine was taken in this attack. Fishermen in the Berbice area have come under repeated attacks from pirates and many engines have been lost.

According to a still shaken Troy Baird, he and the captain of his boat left the New Amsterdam market wharf about 5 pm on Tuesday. He stated that they reached the pen where they put down their seine at 6 pm and that around 9 pm he saw a blue boat with a red stripe approach them. At this point he said three men armed with a gun and two cutlasses started beating him from the back of the boat to the bow. His hands are presently swollen and his head has a bump. The men then took off the engine and told the captain to take it into their boat. The men then chopped the fishermen's rope and left them to drift. They then used two trays and a paddle to reach the Rosignol foreshore where they encountered another fisherman who they asked to drop them to New Amsterdam. They arrived at the Rosignol shore at 4 am yesterday and the captain of the boat called the boat's owner to report what had taken place.

That boat owner, Khemraj Osram told this newspaper that he received the news from his wife at his workplace about 6 am. He stated that this was the first time his boat was hijacked since he started in the business three months ago. He lost his 40 hp Yamaha boat engine.

Another fishing boat which left the New Amsterdam wharf on Tuesday afternoon was also hijacked by the pirates. This vessel was operated by two brothers and they told Stabroek News that at around 9 pm they heard a boat approach and were later confronted by three men who had a gun and a cutlass. One brother stated that the men ordered them to take engines which were in the thieves' boat and place them in their own boat. He stated that they moved about six engines into their boat and the men drove with them about quarter mile from shore and then threw them overboard. The thieves then tied the two boats together and sailed away. He stated that he and his brother swam to the pen (wood that sticks into the mud and where their seine goes) and waited. He added that they later heard a boat engine coming and started calling for help. They then saw it was their mother and father. Their mother Shanti Richards stated that her husband usually goes fishing with her sons but was unable to do so because of illness. She added that fishermen usually work by the tide and that her sons had left since 5 pm and should have been back around 11 pm.

In Sheet Anchor East Canje, Navin Rampersaud stated that he along with another person went out in his boat from under the Canje bridge. He said that around 8 pm a boat appeared and three men with cutlasses started firing chops and jumped into his boat. He stated that he and the other fisherman were searched and that the men asked them for cell phones and rings. He was then forced to take his boat engine, a 40 hp Yamaha engine and put it into the thieves' boat. He added that they then drifted to shore at West Coast Berbice.

Yet another fisherman from Sheet Anchor was also robbed by the pirates but his boat engine was spared. According to Jagrook Ramudit he left to go fishing around the same time as the others but from under the Canje Bridge. He stated that at around 9 pm on Tuesday he heard a boat approach and three men then held onto his vessel and they took away his tank with gasoline, his wristwatch, cutlass, matches and cloak. They shone their light on his engine but told him it was too old.

Some of the fishermen yesterday went back out to retrieve their seines which were left in the river. They have all expressed their anger at the occurrences.