Just one day after a commercial tour vessel sank in Caribbean waters off the coast of St. Kitts, local coast guard officials have pinpointed the structural failure that caused the incident, confirming all passengers and crew escaped unharmed thanks to a rapid joint rescue response.
The maritime emergency unfolded shortly before 8:30 a.m. on Monday, when the captain of the M/V Apple Syder Experience issued an urgent distress call to St. Kitts and Nevis authorities. According to an official statement released Tuesday by the St. Kitts and Nevis Defence Force (SKNDF), which oversees the coast guard, the vessel had developed a critical crack in one of its supporting pontoons, allowing seawater to flood into the hull at an uncontrollable rate.
At the time of the incident, the vessel was carrying 47 passengers and 4 crew members, putting 51 lives at risk as the boat began to settle lower in the water. Minutes after the distress call went out, a nearby commercial vessel, the M/V Makana, changed course to reach the scene and began launching evacuation efforts before coast guard assets arrived. The SKNDF Coast Guard deployed all available rescue personnel and specialized equipment immediately after receiving the alert, arriving on-site rapidly to support the ongoing evacuation.
By the time the vessel slipped fully beneath the surface of the Caribbean, every person on board had already been safely evacuated with no critical injuries reported. Footage of the rescue operation and the sinking quickly spread across local and regional social media platforms within hours of the incident, drawing widespread public attention to the maritime emergency.
Shortly after the evacuation was completed, Prime Minister Dr. Terrance Drew traveled to Joseph N. France General Hospital, where all rescued passengers had been brought for mandatory routine medical checks, to meet with those affected. During his visit, the prime minister confirmed that a full headcount had been completed, and every individual who had been aboard the M/V Apple Syder Experience was accounted for and unharmed. Following the incident, the sunken vessel was recovered from the seabed and towed back to the safety of Port Zante for further inspection.
The official statement from the coast Guard confirms that investigations into the cause of the pontoon crack are ongoing, with authorities set to review the vessel’s recent maintenance history and inspection records to determine if any safety violations or unaddressed maintenance issues contributed to the incident.