Ship sinks off Portsmouth

The ship as it began sinking

A ship has sunk in waters off the town of Portsmouth.

The reason the ship sunk is unknown.

Dramatic footage obtained by DNO showed the ship listing badly to one side before it slipped beneath the waves.

It is unknown at this point where the ship is from and what was its purpose in Dominica.

It is also unknown whether there were injuries in the incident.

Photos below, taken from video footage of the incident, show the sequence of events as the ship sunk.

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 This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or distributed.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.

61 Comments

  1. silversliver
    March 13, 2017

    The owner should not be allowed to get away with such irresponsibility. He should be made to pay for the salvaging and removal of the ship, and the cleaning of the debris and oil spill.

  2. graceful
    March 12, 2017

    May God have compassion on you Dominicans. The bible says that the wicked shall be cut off. You all needs to repent otherwise you all might come down like the sinking ship. Remember the storm Erika. Warning to you guys.

  3. Anthony Ismael
    March 12, 2017

    This was the boat for farmers to ship their produce overseas. :-P :-P

  4. mine
    March 12, 2017

    IF IT WAS AN old boat that was not being use why make this news for being sunk.

  5. The Thinker
    March 12, 2017

    So why was this RUST BUCKET allowed to be moored at PORTSMOUTH…?Were trying to iimprove tourism in this area and the port authorities allow this heap to be there.Questions need to be asked and answered.

  6. culture
    March 12, 2017

    The owner of the boat helped many people in the Portsmouth area a lot of young boys can tell the story .
    People got free rides to travel Puerto Rico to fly to U S, which would be cheaper than flying from D A to U S. Negative comments should not be made against the man ,The sinking ship has nothing to do with politics . We all have our cross to carry . I am telling him be strong against the Devil .

  7. March 12, 2017

    Wanna so dumb and stupid?
    How a sunk boat could be s home for parties?
    The comments are so absurd. That the PM sunk the boat. Elementary thinking…lol

  8. Rasta 4 Weed
    March 12, 2017

    It was loaded with bananas to be shipped to China. The sail broke so the ship sank .

  9. Passport for horses
    March 11, 2017

    The sank ship is a picture of how the DLP is sinking Dominica day by day. No wonder the sinking ship took place in possie, the heart and soul of the DLP. I just hope is not more wanted fugitives like Monfared that were hiding in Savan pile and we’re getting ready to escape to Dominican Republic or Panama by night. Maybe it might be loaded with money. Our Possie divers better hit the water in search of some briefcases on US dollars that could not go through the local banks

    • Bleh
      March 12, 2017

      We need more psychiatrists in the country. Or a different form of teaching in our primary schools. I want to know how so many people link everything bad to PM Skerritt. Tropical storm coming, Skerrit fault, boat sink, Skerritt fault, runway flooded, Skerritt fault, the Pm provide new homes to Petit Savanne residents, not Skerritt fault.

    • mine
      March 12, 2017

      our tongue is a weapon you might sink before the DLP

  10. possie
    March 11, 2017

    Is a old boat the owner was offered money to scrap by those Venezuelans and because man doh like pm man refuse and today desaster in the harbour.and old boat that could a never run again.wicked people! He should be charged! That boat should never have been there.pure stupid ignorance.! Charge him!

    • Human
      March 12, 2017

      He minding people business but didn’t see his own boat sinking.

  11. March 11, 2017

    Ship was abandoned for a long time. One one aboard

  12. Dominican with southern roots
    March 11, 2017

    Sad but she gone to the boat cemetery…RIP :cry: :cry: :cry:

  13. saints and sinners
    March 11, 2017

    An old thing da was just outside there how long that give up

  14. bigger
    March 11, 2017

    One remembers after hurricane David there were a few wrecks in the harbour at Portsmouth it was an eye sore. It was there for years and it took this government to clean up the mess. Bravo Labour Ka Twavi

  15. NURSE
    March 11, 2017

    Monfared ship. Skerrrit sink it to erase evidence

  16. John Jay
    March 11, 2017

    Was this refrigerated ship

  17. March 11, 2017

    Shi sink, wondering if this is one of Dominica Iranian Oil Tanker, this ship look like it was carrying the oil money to Dominica since they cannot do the transaction through the banks. I do hope that all is well with those who were on that ship, also hope that the area is secured for the relevant authorities to investigate the reason for the sinking, since someone alread add their two cents, calling on people to ask Blessing the reason, I am wondering if the Labour Rats will blame the opposition leader and supporter for the ship sinking

  18. Real recognize Real
    March 11, 2017

    All now so fish in dat cooking a jot

  19. Africo
    March 11, 2017

    Cyrils’s boat. Been anchored as a rusting hulk off Portsmouth for many years and went adrift near Cabrits a few times in the past but was towed back to anchor. Probably it just finally rusted completely through the hull, water surged in and it sank. Will provide a good dive site as Shaka Zulu says but hope it does not interfere with yachts and shipping. DASPA must make sure that it is noted on marine charts from now on.

  20. lulz
    March 11, 2017

    BOAT: oh no somebody help
    BOAT: uh anybody help me
    BOAT: I had a little too much to drink
    BOAT: I’m falling over
    BOAT: please save me…
    *boat disappears under water*

  21. culture
    March 11, 2017

    Lord ! help Dominicans with their tongues .HAHAHAYYY I think you need to pray .This disaster is in no way a laughing matter. There is a saying in patios yours is in front mine behind.

    • culture
      March 12, 2017

      Why is my comment always waiting for moderation ? I need to know

  22. Dominican
    March 10, 2017

    it’s not like the ship was in working condition. An old weeyay ship that there since nanay knot. stupes

  23. Leak Freak
    March 10, 2017

    I know who sink it

  24. Alice
    March 10, 2017

    A red boat sinking in Portsmouth is a sign from God dem fellas going down soon!

  25. Politics of Truth
    March 10, 2017

    What was the flag of convenience of that ship?

  26. Let The Truth Be Told - Original
    March 10, 2017

    That is a strange occurrence. There are many questions to be asked and answered. What cargo it contained and what caused it to sink? Who will answer that, now that the ship has sunk? We hope the captain is ashore and will shed some light about this ship..
    One of it is, how long has this ship been anchored in Portsmouth?
    It will have to be lifted from the bottom of the sea to find the cause, if possible and if anyone was aboard and drowned with it.

  27. brownsugar
    March 10, 2017

    omg

  28. Quest
    March 10, 2017

    Did any deep sea divers go and try to rescue people? In case there were people on board.

  29. DNO Reader
    March 10, 2017

    Is this an article? It’s not just about posting everything, if DNO is a news source then the quality of your articles need to be improved. A ship sinks…ok. An article should have content that your readers would not need to ask too many questions. Was there an oil spill? Were there fatalities? How did it happen? Is there a police report?

    You’re reporting an incident, please provide details of the incident so that your audience can appreciate. Then you caption a photo with “sunk”.

    I’d recommend to at least review the writing style of articles on wsj.com, washingtonpost.com, cnn.com, nytimes.com so that there can be improvements. I’d expect DNO to be a reliable source of “news” and not a blog. If you’re a blog then change it to DominicaBlogOnline or create a blog section.

    As long as you remain a news source, please write proper articles so that readers like myself can appreciate the content.

    • Let The Truth Be Told - Original
      March 13, 2017

      Do you know how long it will take to get this information and post it for readers? Some people love to ask questions anyway.
      These websites you quoted have reporters in nearly every part of the country. Are you comparing them to DNO?
      The Media report the news. It is not their place to report all what you asked/stated and immediately. When an investigation is complete, they probably will be able to provide you with all this information but for now, it is only a report of a sunken ship which most of us are satisfied with, whether we ask questions or not.

  30. Zandoli
    March 10, 2017

    I hope they get help to extract the oil and fuel from the ship before it contaminates the water and shoreline.

  31. ?
    March 10, 2017

    Hmm they just start to sink PM that do that

  32. Proud
    March 10, 2017

    Let’s look on the bright side. This will be good for harbouring coral reefs and for juvenile fish. I hope no one was hurt.

  33. Jax....
    March 10, 2017

    Only another 10 to go.

  34. Lenpro
    March 10, 2017

    The government recently spend lots of funds to remove sunk abandoned ships. I hope they hold the owner of this vessel fully accountable and charge them to clean up this mess. Seriously.

  35. Londonn
    March 10, 2017

    I hope they put something there to give the tourist with their yacht a warning so they wouldn’t run over it

  36. March 10, 2017

    Look at it. It was a derelict. Probably scuttled for insurance fraud.

    Oh, it sank because it was filled with water.

  37. The Darkness
    March 10, 2017

    Did the captain… jump off before or during the fall phase?

    Also… will this be investigated? It should be. We have a diving company in D/ca… Hire them.

  38. Delvin
    March 10, 2017

    The dlp ship sinking

  39. Dominica finish
    March 10, 2017

    It’s just a dramatization of what’s happening to Dominica. :)

  40. March 10, 2017

    I do hope there was no fatalities.

  41. March 10, 2017

    Are there survivors, or has any person gone down with the ship?

  42. HAHAHAYYYY
    March 10, 2017

    Pm dat do dat nah. Ask blessing who do it and he will dine a way to blame God child and even God himself. Lol. Vut on a more serious note its sad people just loosing her hard work.

    • Floridian Diaspora
      March 10, 2017

      Damn fool!!! We are all God’s children; even Blessing too.

    • pure possie
      March 10, 2017

      Stop your crap. Is there something you know about the sunk ship you want to tell us about? It doesn’t look like one of the oil tankers but could it be sent to get everything Monfared left behind, including his friends? Talk to us about what you know

    • The Darkness
      March 10, 2017

      English please….

      Someone translate.

    • TS Erika
      March 11, 2017

      then people like you are the first to say Dominicans put politics in everything. i wonder if thats not one of the oil tankers that were registered in greece…….. bull

  43. Don't worry
    March 10, 2017

    I hope that whoever was aboard is ok

  44. ttesa n
    March 10, 2017

    Will be a good home now for de paros

    • ramg
      March 10, 2017

      Apparently them Paros are fishes. Read again please, the boat sank so how can it be home to them?

    • Londonn
      March 10, 2017

      i always knew Paros had lungs like a whale.

    • Da gal
      March 11, 2017

      What the F paros have to do with Boat under water. Alyou just like to talk first then think after

    • BEB
      March 11, 2017

      WHAT ARE U TALKING ABOUT, WILL THE PAROS DIVE IN THE WATER TO GO LIVE IN THE SINKEN SHIP?

  45. Shaka Zulu
    March 10, 2017

    Was there any fuel spill? In the long run after all is settled may be a big diving attraction and artificial reef.

    • real talk
      March 11, 2017

      Everyone from Portsmouth knows the seabed is full of sunken ships..govt should really look into this for diving excursions

      • Shaka Zulu
        March 12, 2017

        The Town council could have a tourism comitee all it takes is putting markers or big floaters to identify location. Each location should have story of the boats and there exploits. Scuba diving is under developed in that area. Another tourist attraction untouched. These are stuff the PR Should be looking into to diversify jobs in constituency.

    • Great observation
      March 11, 2017

      This is a gr8 observation…We need to find out about any fuel spills

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