Two vessels – Friendship and Tigger Moth – sailed from Isla Mujeres in the Mexican Caribbean state of Quintana Roo last week, bound for Havana, Reuters reports. There were nine people of different nationalities on board of both of them. The Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a conversation with Interia, confirmed that the boats sailed under the Polish flag, but there is no information about whether there were Polish citizens on the vessels.
The search for Polish boats in the Caribbean is ongoing
The navy reported that the ships were expected to reach Havana between March 24 and 25, but this did not happen and no news was received from them. The two missing boats are part of a broad aid operation for Cuba, which is currently struggling with energy shortages. The units were loaded with, among others, food, medicines and baby products.
A search operation is underway with the participation of the Mexican military.
“The captains and crews are experienced sailors and both ships are equipped with appropriate safety systems and signaling devices,” a spokesman for the humanitarian convoy said in a statement to Reuters. “We are fully cooperating with the authorities and are confident that the crews will reach Havana safely,” he added.
Mexico has also established contact with maritime rescue coordination centers in Poland, France, Cuba and the United States, as well as with diplomatic representatives of the countries where the people on board come from, the navy said.
Maciej Wiewiór, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told Interia that the Polish authorities had not previously received any notification about a planned humanitarian operation involving Polish boats.
