US ship detained by Venezuela in Guyana disputed waters

nevberg · Post time 14-10-2013 09:20 AM

Guyana says the Venezuelan navy has entered its territorial waters and detained a US-operated ship.

The government said the Venezuelan actions in the disputed Essequibo region constituted "a serious threat to peace in the region".

The ship belongs to Texas-based company Anadarko, which has been granted a contract to look for oil in the area.

Caracas has said the ship was operating illegally in Venezuelan waters. The US has declined to comment on the seizure.

The vessel - the Teknik Perdana - was surveying the seafloor on Thursday when it was approached by a Venezuelan navy vessel and forced to sail to Venezuela's Margarita Island. At least five US citizens are on board, the company said.

"One point is clear: the Teknik Perdana was in Guyana's waters when this incident took place," said the Guyanan foreign ministry in a statement.

The US state department said it was aware of reports that five US citizens were among crew members detained by Venezuelan authorities aboard the ship.

"Due to privacy concerns, we cannot comment further at this time," a statement said.

The ship sails under a Panamanian flag and is owned by Singaporean marine surveying company.

"Our first concern is the safety of the crew of the MV Teknik Perdana research vessel, which was under contract to our company and conducting a seafloor survey on behalf of the government of Guyana," said a spokesperson for Anadarko, Brian Cain.

"We are fully cooperating with the Government of Guyana, the US coast guard and embassy personnel in an effort to achieve the safe release of the crew and vessel," Mr Cain added.

'Peaceful vocation'
The Venezuelan foreign ministry responded shortly after, issuing a statement demanding an official explanation from the Guyanan authorities.

"Venezuela expresses its deepest concerns over the manner in which foreign vessels authorised by the government of Guyana enter Venezuelan territorial waters and exclusive economic area," said the statement.

"We reiterate that the Bolivarian National Navy would never encroach on the territory of a fraternal nation."

According to the statement, the vessel is expected to dock in the Margarita Island at 06:00 local time (11:30 GMT) on Saturday.

The foreign ministry reaffirmed Venezuela's "peaceful vocation" and said it had no intention of "going back to previous situations of confrontation with the Republic of Guyana".

The vast area west of the Essequibo river makes up two-thirds of the territory of Guyana.

It has been claimed by Venezuela as its own since the 19th Century, when Guyana was still a British colony.

Former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez made attempts to improve relations between the two South American neighbours.

In an official visit to Georgetown in 2004, he played down the dispute and said that "the integration of South America and the Caribbean is vital, especially now that neo-liberalism has failed".

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nevberg · Post time 15-10-2013 10:13 PM

UPDATE 1-Venezuela frees seized oil ship, crew -owner

Oct 15 (Reuters) - The Malaysian company that owns a U.S.-hired oil survey ship detained last week by Venezuela in a territorial dispute with neighboring Guyana said on Tuesday the boat and its 36-member crew had been released.

SapuraKencana Petroleum said in a statement it was grateful to President Nicolas Maduro's government for releasing the RV Teknik Perdana, which was picked up by Venezuela's navy last week and taken to Margarita island.

"We wish to express our gratitude to the Venezuelan government for caring for the safety and welfare of the crew, which comprises multiple nationalities, during the time they were at Margarita Island and also for releasing the vessel," the Kuala Lumpur-based company said in a statement.

There was no immediate confirmation from Venezuela and Guyana, whose foreign ministers had planned to meet on Thursday in Trinidad and Tobago to discuss the situation and the two nations' century-old border dispute.

Venezuela's navy boarded and seized the RV Teknik Perdana, which was being used by Texas-based Anadarko for a seabed survey, on Thursday.

Maduro's government said the ship had violated Venezuelan waters but Guyana said it was well within its territory and the seizure was an act of aggression.

Guyanese officials said the crew included citizens of eight countries: the United States, Russia, France, Indonesia, Brazil, Malaysia, Panama and Ukraine.

Guyana awarded Anadarko Petroleum a deep-water exploration license in June last year for a block named Roraima.

Oil companies have been increasingly interested in the northeastern shoulder of South America since a discovery off nearby French Guyana in 2011 that industry experts described as a game-changer for the region's energy prospects.

Venezuela and Guyana have long argued about the status of the disputed Essequibo region, an area on the border about the size of the U.S. state of Georgia, and over rights to the ocean resources that lie offshore. Venezuela calls it a reclamation zone but in practice it functions as Guyanese territory.

SapuraKencana said its president and group CEO Tan Sri Shahril Shamsuddin had met Venezuela's ambassador to Malaysia to try and resolve the matter.

"At that meeting, the Venezuelan ambassador gave a firm assurance that the crew were safe and were being treated well by the authorities there," it said, adding that Malaysia's envoy in Venezuela had rushed to Margarita to help mediate the situation.

Sumber: Reuters