Georgetown: Foreign Ministers of Guyana and Venezuela will meet Thursday to resolve the outcome of a ship and crew hired by a U.S. oil exploration firm that Venezuela seized in disputed waters.
However, the Venezuelan Attorney General’s Office charged Ukrainian captain Igor Bekirov for allegedly violating Venezuela’s exclusive economic zone onboard the oil exploration US ship Teknik Perdana. The ship was intercepted by Venezuelan authorities on October 10 in Guyana.
Both Ministers will meet in Trinidad and Tobago “in the hope of resolving diplomatically whatever difference exists between both sides,” a Venezuelan government statement said.
Venezuela said the ship had violated its waters. Guyana says the boat was well within its territory and Venezuela's action has threatened its national security.
The boat was been taken to the Venezuelan island of Margarita but was released today.
Oil companies have been increasingly interested in the northeastern shoulder of South America since a discovery off nearby French Guyana in 2011 that industry experts described as a game-changer for the region's energy prospects.
Venezuela and Guyana have long argued about the status of the disputed Essequibo region, an area on the border about the size of the U.S. state of Georgia, and over rights to the ocean resources that lie offshore. Venezuela calls it a "reclamation zone," but in practice it functions as Guyanese territory.
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