Guyana is on high alert after a Venezuelan navy ship entered its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) at 07:00am this morning. Air assets have been deployed and Guyana is currently mobilising its Coast Guard to be deployed to the area.
Guyanese President Irfaan Ali told the nation in an address that the Venezuelan navy vessel approached several assets in Guyana’s EEZ including the Prosperity floating production storage and offloading vessel (FPSO). That asset is owned by U.S. oil major ExxonMobil, the operator of Guyana’s Stabroek Block.
President Ali revealed that based on visible markings, the vessel was identified as “ABF Wakari PO-11 IMO 4695542” a Venezuelan Coast Guard vessel.
The Guyanese President reminded that its “assets and FPSO Prosperity are operating lawfully within Guyana’s EEZ”.
He said that the patrol vessel transmitted a radio message declaring that the FPSO was “operating in what it termed disputed international waters” before continuing its course in a southwestern direction toward other FPSOs.
“Let me be unequivocal, Guyana’s maritime boundaries are recognized under international law and this incursion is a matter of grave concern,” the President added.
The Venezuelan Ambassador to Guyana has been summoned by the Minister of Foreign Affairs to register Guyana’s strong protest. All of Guyana’s international partners will be informed, Ali continued.
This incident has the potential to escalate tensions between Venezuela and Guyana. Just recently, Guyanese soldiers were attacked by alleged members of a Venezuelan gang.
The two border nations are currently embroiled in a territorial controversy with an ongoing case at the International Court of Justice.
The case centers on the 1899 Arbitral Award, which legally determined the boundary between the two countries. Venezuela, after accepting the boundary for decades, declared the award null and void in 1962 and has since claimed over two-thirds of Guyana’s territory in the Essequibo region. Guyana initiated legal proceedings at the ICJ in 2018, following UN Secretary General António Guterres’ determination that judicial settlement was the best path forward. The ICJ subsequently ruled it had jurisdiction over the case in 2020, rejecting Venezuela’s objections.
