Murder of superyacht captain has boat owners worried
The Prime Minister of Antigua & Barbuda, has spoken about the murder of a superyacht captain, Drew Gollan, who was shot and killed last week after what is thought to have been an unsuccessful robbery on Antigua in the Caribbean.
The killing comes hot on the heels of the double murder of a British couple who were holidaying on the island last year.
The shooting of the yacht captain occurred in the area surrounding English Harbour in the south of the island.
According to reports, the 38-year-old was walking home from a local bar with his girlfriend, alena, and their 21-month-old child, who were visiting the island at the time of the incident. Reports say that at around 23:00 local time on January 22, a man approached demanding money while holding a gun and threatening Alena. Gollan, acting in her defence, tried to prevent the attack and during the ensuing struggle, the gun fell to the ground and went off slightly injuring his girlfriend in her foot.
Recovering the fallen the weapon, the attacker then reportedly fired three shots into Gollan’s chest. Attempts made to keep him alive in the back of a pickup truck as it raced towards the hospital in St John, the island’s capital on the other side of the island, failed and he was pronounced dead on arrival.
In an emergency meeting hastily called and held at the Copper and Lumber Store, a hotel in Nelson’s Dockyard, the Hon Baldwin Spencer, Prime Minister of Antigua & Barbuda, told a meeting: “Antigua is still a safe place to be. It’s an unfortunate situation, however, we are all hoping that justice will be done to the perpetrator(s).” He confirmed that the island’s police force had yet to apprehend anyone in connection with the crime as the meeting went on to discuss what has been described as “safe and preventative measures to combat the situation”.
As islanders mourn, the general feedback from the yachting community is to ask “Why?”. Some captains are reported to be considering the idea of leaving the island and one report received here in the UK suggests that four have already left.