As the fishing community marked a milestone in maritime training this week, the absence of one would-be graduate, Chinese national Zhi Cai Su, turned celebration into a poignant void.
A ceremony meant to highlight progress in safety at sea became a grim reminder of those still unaccounted for after Zhi and fellow fisherman Othniel Harewood vanished during an expedition in rough Atlantic waters.
Officials gathered for the graduation ceremony of the Fishing Vessel Operations Level 3 course, designed to bolster maritime safety and food security. It became a platform for both mourning and a renewed call to action.
Chief Fisheries Officer Dr Shelly Cox and Barbados Coast Guard Commander Derrick Brathwaite used the occasion to update the public on the search for Zhi and his companion, while emphasising the life-and-death importance of modernising safety protocols at sea.
Dr Cox, in an emotional address, highlighted that Zho was not merely a statistic or a “missing person”, but a vital thread in the fabric of the industry. The former treasurer of the Oistins Fisherfolk Association was set to receive his certification — a testament to his dedication to professionalising his craft.
“Today is a very, very auspicious occasion, but a sad one for us because Mr Su, known to us dearly as ‘Chinese’, was to be graduating today,” Dr Cox stated. “I would have known Chinese from seeing him at Oistins every day… when you see someone every day, you start to have a closer relationship.”
Dr Cox noted that Zhi’s involvement in the industry went beyond his own boat; he was instrumental in leadership transitions at Oistins, recently handing over his “baton” to the incoming treasurer. Despite the vessel being overdue for more than two weeks, Dr Cox refused to speak of him in the past tense.
“I am not saying a moment of silence because we have a precedent where some fishermen were lost for two months and then were found in Venezuela,” she reminded the audience. “So, we will keep hope that he will return to us safely, but we just want to acknowledge him… he was that course participant who was genuine and loving in nature.”
While the Fisheries Division clings to hope, the Barbados Coast Guard remains engaged in a high-stakes search and rescue operation. Commander Brathwaite confirmed that the search for the overdue vessel is being treated with the highest level of regional cooperation.
“The Barbados Coast Guard, the Barbados Police Service, the Regional Security System (RSS), and our stakeholders nationally and regionally are aware that there was an overdue vessel as of two weeks now,” Commander Brathwaite said. “We are still hoping above hope that those two fishermen are somewhere safe.”
Brathwaite detailed the systematic nature of the search, which extends far beyond the physical horizon of Barbadian waters. The operation involves a “back-office” component where regional counterparts conduct port searches in neighbouring islands to ensure the vessel hasn’t landed elsewhere.
“If we know the general area of the last known position, we deploy assets both in terms of ground assets, maritime assets and possibly air assets, depending on the complexity and scope of the operation,” he explained. “You can rest assured that all of those procedures and protocols were taken into consideration as we reacted to the information received.”
The disappearance of the fishermen has underscored a harsh reality: fishing remains one of the world’s most dangerous professions. Both Dr Cox and Commander Brathwaite emphasised that while the Coast Guard will always respond, the best defence is prevention and technology.
Dr Cox pointed out that the Level 3 course was specifically designed to bridge the gap between traditional fishing methods and modern safety requirements.
“It’s really against that backdrop that we need to do courses like this to instil in our fishermen the importance of safety… the procedures necessary to ensure that we can be the vehicles for food security in the island, but also make sure that we are knowledgeable about the electronics and the ways of boat handling,” she said.
Commander Brathwaite echoed this sentiment, making a direct appeal to boat owners to embrace Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS). He argued that in 2026, technology should be the primary lifeline when human communication fails.
“I would encourage [vessel owners] to get on board with the Fisheries Division in terms of vessel monitoring systems or tracking systems because those are critical pieces of technology that we can leverage,” Brathwaite urged. “Even if you can’t speak, we can find and locate your vessel and thereby locate you.”
The commander also stressed the concept of redundancy. He advised fishermen to maintain multiple forms of communication, carry updated safety equipment such as flares and lifejackets, and maintain a rigorous “shore contact” protocol.
As the ceremony concluded, the sentiment remained one of “guarded optimism”.
The fishing community, often described as a brotherhood, remains on high alert for any sign of the missing vessel. For the families of the two men, the Coast Guard’s message was one of solidarity.
“We are giving out our prayers to the loved ones and families,” Cmdr Brathwaite said. “Fishing still remains an honourable profession, but it has inherent dangers. There are things that we can mitigate against… through training, development and communication.”
The Fisheries Division and the Coast Guard have pledged to continue their efforts, balancing the technical demands of a maritime search with the compassion required for a community in waiting.
(RR)
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