Dominican reportedly missing at sea

Celestine was on a boat traveling from St. Martin to Antigua which went missing
Celestine was on a boat traveling from St. Martin to Antigua which went missing

The family of a Portsmouth man who is reportedly missing at sea since December 29, 2015, still has strong hopes that he will be found and in good health.

Enn Celestine, 28, along with four Antiguan nationals left St. Martin for Antigua but never reached their destination.

According to media reports, their 45-foot boat, named Kenya Diva, encountered engine trouble about 20 miles off Antigua.

The Antigua Coast Guard, along with an aircraft, went in search of the vessel but the searches have turned up empty.

On Janury 3, the Antigua Coast Guard suspended search for the Kenya Diva, saying that it is reassessing its plan of action.

Acting head of the Antigua Coast Guard, Lieutenant Commander, Elroy Skerritt, is quoted by the Antigua Observer as saying that during the search sea conditions made the going rough for the coast guard.

“The crew experienced sea conditions where the waves were breaking over the side of the vessel. Swells were at least 8 feet and beyond. We also had wind conditions gusting to 30 knots. The conditions were very unfavorable but despite the situation the coast guard along with other private entities made a very good effort to search for this vessel. Unfortunately up to this point, there are still no signs of this vessel,” he said.

Skerritt also that the captain of the distressed vehicle did not reach out to the Coast Guard immediately.

The Antigua Observer also quoted Jonathan Cornelius, of the Antigua Barbuda Search and Rescue, as saying given the tides, the vessel would drift towards Saba or the north of St. Kitts.

He said information was sent to the St. Kitts and Nevis Coast Guard asking them to be on the lookout for the vessel.

Meanwhile back in Dominica, relatives of Celestine said the Antiguan owner of the boat is refusing to give them proper information as to what actually transpired.

“However what my family and I do know is that Enn Celestine was in St Martin spending the Christmas vacation his sister, Vernice Sylvester,” a relative told Dominica News Online. “He together with four other Antiguan nationals left St Martin on the 29th of December as was told to us by St. Martin’s custom services for Antigua.”

The relative went on to say that the owner of the boat explained that the captain, which is her son, called about 7:30 am on Wednesday, December 30, 2015 saying they had engine problems and they were told on put on life jackets.

“He (the boat’s captain) did not contact the Coast Guard,” the relative said. “He only called his mother to explain the problem. The mother then called one of her friends to help them out, which was unsuccessful. She too did not call the Coast Guard. By the time the Coast Guard got the information by unknown sources it was already too late and the boys are yet to be found.”

The relative noted that the Celestine’s family is keeping hope alive.

“Enn Celestine was the only Dominican national on the boat and his family still have strong hopes for his return,” she said.

The vessel in which the men were traveling
The vessel in which the men were traveling

Copyright 2012 Dominica News Online, DURAVISION INC. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or distributed.

Disclaimer: The comments posted do not necessarily reflect the views of DominicaNewsOnline.com and its parent company or any individual staff member. All comments are posted subject to approval by DominicaNewsOnline.com. We never censor based on political or ideological points of view, but we do try to maintain a sensible balance between free speech and responsible moderating.

We will delete comments that:

  • contain any material which violates or infringes the rights of any person, are defamatory or harassing or are purely ad hominem attacks
  • a reasonable person would consider abusive or profane
  • contain material which violates or encourages others to violate any applicable law
  • promote prejudice or prejudicial hatred of any kind
  • refer to people arrested or charged with a crime as though they had been found guilty
  • contain links to "chain letters", pornographic or obscene movies or graphic images
  • are off-topic and/or excessively long

See our full comment/user policy/agreement.

19 Comments

  1. Know Your Role
    January 8, 2016

    Hmmmm…I smell a fish. Mother was called by the captain of the boat, she then call her friend, go on a search but to no avail, still did not report to the coast guard and the coast guard got a call from an unknown source. Hmmm fishy, smelling fish all around. But question. Why didn’t the mother friend suggest to her to call the coast guard? Something is not right here. I pray that they all will be found alive and well but if not some body should be held accountable for this.

  2. Your one and only boss
    January 7, 2016

    Maybe pirates held them hostage or just took the boat because believe it or no the pirates are out there! There was a recent interception by these same pirates! Coast Guard should go all the way down South in the search for the boat!

  3. MISS SYLVESTER
    January 7, 2016

    EXTENDING HEARTFELT WARMTH TO VERNICE AND FAMILY.I KNEW ENN VERY WELL………

  4. Helen Valentine
    January 7, 2016

    dat person notfrom possie he from Anse d Mai

    • Doggy
      January 7, 2016

      You too stupid he from Possie/ capuchin

  5. professor
    January 7, 2016

    whenever a vessel is in distress the first thing a trained and experienced captain or pilot does is send out a May Day call which will be picked up by the coast guard and any other vessels in proximity to it. something is not right when the captain first calls his mother who then calls a friend. lets hope and pray that these men are found alive.

  6. more of the same
    January 6, 2016

    Wow!! Portsmouth again!!! You mean spooky Portsmouth? :twisted: :twisted:

  7. Face the Facts
    January 6, 2016

    How many days it takes by boat from St. Martin to Antigua? This boat does not look like a safe one to make that trip. It looks small and probably should not be carrying passengers. It may be illegal to do so which is why the owner did not call the coast guard.
    It is fishy. If they are well acquainted with the law and the boat is equipped to carry passengers, why not call the coast guard?.
    I hope they are found and the Dominican is safe. Relatives, fervently pray!

    • Facts, since I know about the sailing of ships, and a little bit about navigation, perhaps I can help you, and if you do not believe we owned a ship; check out Lloyds of London and ask if they ever carry Insurance on a Ship named MV Felskove. Now the distance between Antigua and St. Martin is 171.91 Km, which is equal to approximately 106.82 miles, and 92.76 nautical miles.

      If you travel on an aircraft with an average speed of 560 miles per hour between English Harbor in Antigua, and Philipsburg St. Martin, it should take no more than 0.19 hours to go from one point to the other, in reality it takes less than 30 minuets to cover the distance.

      With a ship such as we had; sort of slow; took a little less than two days, in something as they were traveling on it would depend on the power of the engine, and how fast is the propulsion; and condition of the ocean currents, it could have taken days, perhaps more than three days!

  8. Observer
    January 6, 2016

    They like to put innocent looking pictures of people in such situations.

  9. REASONING
    January 6, 2016

    :?: Not contacting the coast guard is fishy and questionable,i smell a rat !!! I there something to hide :?:

    • Doggy
      January 7, 2016

      If you live in a rat hole you must smell rat.

  10. Dash
    January 6, 2016

    Pirates invaded I suspect.

  11. sassie
    January 6, 2016

    Mother refused to call coast guard. I wonder why?your son is in trouble at sea but you refuse to get proper help. And you are the owner of the boat and he is the captain hmmmmm. Questionable!

  12. hmmmmmmmmmm
    January 6, 2016

    hmmmm something not right here de first person they supposed 2 contact is coast guard or make their relative contact the coast guard

  13. Anonymous
    January 6, 2016

    sounds like this may be the boat Shabba used to get to ANU?????

  14. January 6, 2016

    Hmm, ONE Dominican, FOUR Antiguans, MISSING at SEA. FISHY.

    • Dominican
      January 6, 2016

      Where DNO getting those retards there nah stupes. Go and observe a book eh with that stupid comment. Now I see why politicians can fool all you so

      • Lol
        January 7, 2016

        Lolll hahahahaha true wii hahahaha

Post a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

:) :-D :wink: :( 8-O :lol: :-| :cry: 8) :-? :-P :-x :?: :oops: :twisted: :mrgreen: more »

 characters available