A mysterious incident involving the rescue of two men identified as Barbadian fishermen from a drifting vessel near Venezuelan territorial waters has stirred up widespread questions and uncertainty within the Barbadian fishing community, while pushing a decades-long industry veteran to push for sweeping updates to national maritime safety regulations.
The two men, Jason Alexander Harewood and Lionel DaCosta Barnes, were plucked to safety from their drifting fishing boat, the Twin Fin, off the Venezuelan coast before being transported onward to Jamaica for further processing. But in the weeks since the rescue, local fishermen have been unable to confirm the pair’s identities or their connection to Barbados’ fishing industry.
Everton Brathwaite, a 54-year veteran of Barbados’ fishing sector, told reporters that even after speaking to dozens of fellow fishermen across the island, no one has been able to verify who Harewood and Barnes are, or recognize the name of their vessel. “I don’t know the boat, and I don’t know the men,” Brathwaite said in an interview. “I’ve never heard that name before. I’ve asked so many people who these two are, and no one can give me a straight answer, so I can’t even say which port they would have sailed from.” Other fishermen contacted by local media outlet Barbados TODAY echoed Brathwaite’s uncertainty, and local law enforcement officials also said they have no additional details to clear up the mystery surrounding the two men.
This unusual, unresolved case comes in stark contrast to a fatal tragedy that unfolded earlier this year, when two Barbadian fishermen vanished without a trace while operating in rough open waters. For Brathwaite, the juxtaposition of these two events underscores just how critical updated safety technology and mandatory emergency equipment are to protecting fishermen who venture far from shore.
Brathwaite noted that modern satellite technology has revolutionized maritime safety over the past few decades, cutting the risk of fishermen going missing at sea dramatically. “On a scale of one to 10, safety is at a nine today compared to 40 years ago,” he explained. “Fishermen used to disappear all the time, but that’s rare now because of all the technology we have on board. Most of us have large marine radios, VHF communication systems, and more and more are adding Starlink satellite internet to our boats. That keeps us connected to shore the entire time we’re out.”
The widespread adoption of low-cost satellite internet systems like Starlink allows fishing crews to stay in constant contact with family members on land, boat owners, and emergency services via everyday apps like WhatsApp. If a vessel develops mechanical problems mid-voyage, crews can reach out directly to mechanics or rescue services for help, something Brathwaite said he has done personally on multiple occasions. “You can call home, talk to the people on the dock, reach your boat owner, or get help if something breaks,” he said. “It’s so much safer than it used to be.” Brathwaite, who pays roughly $571 per month for a 50-gigabyte broadband data package for his own boat, keeps his phone charged and connected from the moment he leaves port to the minute he returns.
While Brathwaite said he does not know exactly how many Barbadian fishing vessels have installed Starlink equipment, a growing share of the local fleet now carries digital tracking devices that are monitored in real time by the Barbados Coast Guard and the national Fisheries Division. These devices eliminate the uncertainty that long plagued search-and-rescue operations, Brathwaite explained, giving rescuers exact location data immediately when a vessel runs into trouble. “Looking for a small boat in the middle of the ocean is like looking for a needle in a haystack if you don’t know where it is,” he said. “It makes no sense for a boat to go missing and have no idea which direction it was heading. With these trackers, the Coast Guard can pull up the boat’s exact location and send rescuers straight there.”
But even the best tracking technology is not enough to protect crews from sudden catastrophes, including onboard fires or vessels capsizing in rough seas—events Brathwaite suspects led to the disappearance of the two fishermen earlier this year. To illustrate his point, he referenced a recent incident involving a fishing boat from Trinidad that caught fire and sank. The crew was blocked from reaching their main life raft by flames, but a small secondary dinghy allowed them to stay afloat until a passing cargo vessel rescued them.
That example, Brathwaite said, is why Barbadian authorities need to enforce much stricter safety standards across the entire local fishing fleet, including mandating that all fishing vessels carry fully functional life rafts as a non-negotiable requirement for operating certification. “When you leave port, there’s no guarantee you’re going to come back,” he said. “Fishermen need to have every piece of emergency equipment on board possible to make sure they can be found and stay alive if something goes wrong. Right now, most of these small fishing boats don’t carry any life rafts at all. That’s a policy change the Fisheries Division has to make.”
Brathwaite proposed that life raft requirements be added to mandatory vessel inspections, with boats blocked from passing certification if they do not carry the required emergency equipment. “If you don’t have a life raft, you can’t get your inspection approval,” he said. “That should be one of the top requirements, because it saves lives.”