Missing Cuba-bound aid boats found, crews safe

2026-03-28 - 12:51

The Mexican Navy said it launched a search-and-rescue mission after losing contact with the vessels, which left Isla Mujeres in southeastern Mexico. (AFP pic) HAVANA: Two sailboats carrying aid to Cuba that went missing have been found, convoy organisers said today, but Mexico’s navy leading the search was yet to comment as circumstances around the vessels’ disappearance remained unclear. The Mexican Navy reported Thursday that it began a search and rescue mission after losing communication with the vessels, which left from Isla Mujeres in southeast Mexico a week ago with nine people aboard. The sailboats are part of an international convoy that has brought 50 tonnes of medical supplies, food, solar panels and other goods to support Cuba as a US fuel blockade has deepened the communist-ruled island’s energy and economic crisis. “We are relieved to confirm that the two sailboats have been located by the Mexican Navy, the crews are safe, and the vessels are continuing their journey to Havana,” a spokesman for the Nuestra America Convoy said today. “The Convoy remains on track to complete its mission – delivering urgently needed humanitarian aid to the Cuban people,” the spokesman said, thanking Mexican and Cuban authorities for their “support, coordination, and professionalism”. The convoy spokesman did not say why the two boats lost contact. The Mexican Navy has yet to confirm that it has located the vessels. Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum said Friday that the search for the sailboats – the Friend Ship and Tiger Moth – was ongoing. A Mexican Navy ship had “established contact with them and after a few hours it no longer had contact with them. At that point, a search operation was initiated,” Sheinbaum said at a news conference in Mexico City. Around the same time she spoke, the US Coast Guard told AFP that it had “received a report at 2.36pm today that the two vessels safely transited to Cuba”. The Coast Guard, however, later released an “updated” statement saying the Mexican Navy was leading the “ongoing search” along with Cuban authorities. It added that it was not involved in the search. Cuban and Mexican authorities have so far not confirmed any sightings of the vessels. The Mexican Navy had indicated that the boats were due to arrive between Tuesday and Wednesday. Cuban president Miguel Diaz-Canel said Havana was “doing everything possible” to help the search. ‘Experienced’ sailors The first shipments from the Our America Convoy arrived by plane from Europe and the US last week. A fishing boat that was converted into an aid vessel, which had also left Mexico last week, arrived in Cuba on Tuesday, a few days later than planned due to unfavourable weather, currents and battery issues. It had been escorted by a Mexican Navy ship part of the way. After the Mexican Navy reported Thursday that the two sailboats were missing, a spokeman for Our America Convoy said organisers remained confident in the “experienced” crew’s ability to reach Havana safely. Both vessels were equipped “with appropriate safety systems and signalling equipment,” the spokesman said, adding that based on their speed they could arrive in Cuba between Friday night and Saturday morning. Naval authorities did not specify the identities or nationalities of the boats’ crew members, but said they were maintaining communication with rescue agencies in Poland, France, Cuba and the US. Meanwhile, a Mexican Navy ship carrying 111 tonnes of food and other donations arrived in Havana on Friday, according to official Cuban media. Mexico has now sent four shipments of aid to Cuba totalling more than 3,000 tonnes, though it has yet to resume oil deliveries. US president Donald Trump imposed a de facto oil blockade on Cuba in January after US forces seized Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, whose government had been Cuba’s principal source of fuel. Trump has also threatened tariffs on countries that ship oil to Cuba.