A brazen armed robbery that has shocked local law enforcement unfolded Sunday night near the Port of Spain waterfront, when a dozen attackers boarded a moored cargo vessel and stole thousands of dollars in cash and personal and nautical valuables from three crew members. The unusual incident, which unfolded steps from one of the capital’s most high-profile hotels, marked an unprecedented act of maritime banditry in the heart of Trinidad’s capital, according to senior police officials.
The targeted vessel, the C Elizabeth II, was secured alongside a maintenance barge for routine repairs just a short distance from Trinidad’s Hyatt Regency hotel when the attack began at approximately 10:30 p.m. Authorities confirmed the 12 attackers were heavily armed, carrying not just firearms but also edged weapons including cutlasses and axes, as they stormed the ship and declared their robbery to the crew on board.
Three crew members were on the vessel during the boarding: the ship’s captain, a national of Grenada, one crew member from Malick, Barataria, and a third from St. Vincent. The gang stole a wide range of property from the men, including personal items like mobile phones, gold and silver jewelry, and cash, alongside critical nautical equipment. Among the stolen goods were a GPS navigation system, a 100-liter oxygen tank, a 100-liter gas tank, an inflatable dinghy and a small outboard engine. As of initial investigations, the total value of all stolen property has not yet been finalized.
After completing the robbery, the suspects fled the anchored vessel in a small pirogue, leaving the three crew members unharmed but shaken by the incident. In an unexpected twist that has baffled investigators, the stolen property was partially returned less than seven hours after the attack. The captain told police that at around 5 a.m. Monday, he spotted a group of men in a pirogue approaching the C Elizabeth II, who attached the previously stolen dinghy to the ship before departing the area again. When crew checked the returned dinghy, they found the stolen engine, gas tank and other stolen equipment inside it, still intact.
Local law enforcement personnel have launched a full investigation into the incident. Officers Cpl Balchan and PC Phillip were first on the scene, processing forensic evidence and documenting the site with photographs, while PC Dopwell officially logged the incident report and requested access to nearby closed-circuit television footage to identify the attackers. Investigators are still awaiting formal statements from the three victims, and the investigation remains ongoing.
Contacted for comment on the unprecedented robbery, a senior Trinidadian police official told reporters he could not recall any similar armed robbery of a cargo vessel occurring so close to the core of the capital city. Troy Persad, president of the Shipping Association of Trinidad and Tobago, confirmed the organization would launch its own internal review of the incident to assess port security and identify any gaps that allowed the attack to occur. Jearlean John, Trinidad’s Minister of Works and Infrastructure, which oversees port operations, stated she had not yet been briefed on the robbery when contacted for comment.