A St. Maarten catamaran crew is now back in their homeland after being released by BVI authorities following charges of “landing in the territory without leave of an immigration officer” and “allowing persons to land without leave of an immigration officer”.
This is according to the Daily Herald newspaper in St. Maarten which reported the arrival of the crew of the charter catamaran Mojito last weekend following the payment of a $12,000 fine.
As stated in the article, the crew alleged that they had “unsuspectingly taken on board a group of seven Romanian migrants who had booked and paid for a four-day charter in the BVI through an online booking platform.”
They claimed that after arriving in Tortola around 1:00 a.m. on December 6, the Romanian group pressured their Captain Charlie Vaughn Swinton to dock the catamaran under the false assumption that a pregnant woman was extremely ill.
The captain claimed that he radio-called for medical assistance but said all calls were unanswered.
After docking the vessel, the Romanians escaped but were arrested on the neighbouring United States Virgin Island of St. Thomas the next day and charged with illegal entry into the USA.
One of the Romanians according to a USVI news report was wanted for murder.
Following the detainment by BVI authorities of captain Swinton and hostess Lily Alexandre, the two were initially held on suspicion of human trafficking and crossing borders illegally, but those charges were not pursued.
The article further explained that captain Swinton was the only person charged of the two, with “landing in the territory without leave of an immigration officer” and “allowing persons to land without leave of an immigration officer”.
Owner of the vessel and Private Yacht Charter Pierre Altier said he was “tremendously relieved” that the case is now closed and the crew is back in St. Maarten in time for Christmas.