JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Pirates in the Caribbean, or at least an apparent act of piracy that stretched on for two days, seems to have been resolved.
New photos obtained by Action News Jax show Bahamian police aboard a cargo barge that was taken over by roughly 50 people off the coast of the Bahamas on its way from Jacksonville to Puerto Rico, according to the vessel’s owner.
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Action News Jax obtained video showing several small vessels alongside the Brooklyn Bridge cargo barge about three miles off the coast of the Bahamas.
The video, Action News Jax is told, was shot by the suspected robbers and looters and sent to the vessel’s owner, Trailer Bridge, as proof of the ongoing incident.
“Modern-day piracy looks very different than it did back in the day. As you pointed out, they’re smaller, faster boats,” said maritime attorney Adam Deitz
The act of potential piracy in the Caribbean is an incredibly rare sight, according to Dietz.
More photos obtained by Action News Jax on Friday, taken aboard the barge, show emptied out cargo containers once full of household supplies and food.
“A large commercial ship being commandeered by local pirates in the Caribbean is very unusual,” said Deitz.
Trailer Bridge told Action News Jax its vessel was boarded on Thursday after the tug boat pulling the barge experienced a tow wire failure that grounded the barge two days prior.
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The company contacted the US Navy, Coast Guard, and local police, but Bahamian officials initially told the company they would not engage, “because they feared possible violence”.
It’s unclear based on photos and videos obtained by Action News Jax whether the suspected robbers and looters are armed.
But Deitz said, generally, acts of piracy are not carried out with the intent of physically harming crew members.
“It’s based in money, not necessarily violence for the sake of violence, but they do resolve badly sometimes,” said Deitz.
Another photo Action News Jax obtained Friday showed the barge boarded by Bahamian police, and the smaller boats that once surrounded it are nowhere to be seen.
Deitz said oftentimes piracy is a symptom of destabilization within a country, so he hopes this is a one-off occurrence and not the start of a larger trend.
The shipping lane between JAXPORT and the Bahamas is a critical lifeline to Puerto Rico, making the stakes incredibly high.
“There are things that ships can do in the meantime to still use the area while they’re figuring it out, but this is early. I guess we’ll see,” said Deitz.
Action News Jax reached out to the US Coast Guard and asked whether it was involved in the response and what that response may have looked like.
We’re waiting to hear back.
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