On March 15th, 2016 two French and two German sailors decided to make a dinghy trip up the Maroni River from the Marina Saint Laurent du Maroni, where their yacht was berthed.

This is a well-travelled area as more than 200 pirogues pass between Albina and Saint Laurent daily.

At 10:00, when they were 2nm up-river, they were accosted by three “armed” young men, who approached their dinghy in a maroon pirogue with an outboard engine and demanded the sailors’ belongings. The incident took less than a minute, and while they were not boarded, they were ordered to hand over their luggage.

The sailors were not entirely sure the thieves carried real weapons but understandably decided to err on the side of caution.

No one was harmed.

Note that where this incident took place was less than 1NM from Albina, Suriname. It is still not known if the robbery (this was not a physical attack), was perpetrated by Surinamese or French citizens.

The local Gendarmerie is taking the matter very seriously, as it is the first incident of its kind in the area, and have immediately stepped-up border patrols.

Related content

Saint Laurent du Maroni