(File Photo)
Shortly after the Royal Bahamas Defence Force apprehended a Haitian sloop earlier this morning, the United States Coast Guard (USCG) Cutter Northland apprehended another sloop.
Both apprehensions were made at sea as a result of a collaborative effort between the Defence Force, Operation Bahamas Turks and Caicos (OPBAT), and US Coast Guard District 7. HMBS Durward Knowles, under the command of Lieutenant Commander Omarv Saunders, intercepted a Haitian sloop at about 5:30 this morning, approximately 40 miles east of Ragged Island.
This latest incident occurred south of Acklins Island after the sloop was spotted by an OPBAT helicopter a day before. The successful interdiction was the result of the Defence Force Intelligence Section, in collaboration with The Bahamas Immigration Department, sharing certain information with OPBAT.
The sloop was subsequently intercepted by US Coast Guard Cutter Northland around 6:30 this morning, approximately 16 nautical miles south of Acklins. The assistance was timely as HMBS Durward Knowles was engaged with conducting a boarding routine aboard the first sloop east of Ragged Island.
The number of persons on board both sloops are undetermined at this time.
-RBDF-
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