ONLINE CURRENTS VOL3 - Flipbook - Page 9
When 41-year-old Keith Davis went missing in 2015 aboard the Victoria, a Panamanian tuna
transshipment vessel, the real surprise was that nobody else aboard said much at all about his
disappearance. Davis had been working as a fisheries observer, and none of his companion sailors
were talking about, or even questioning, his absence.
Davis vanished on a calm day, touched with light rain, as is often the case in the waters off the
Pacific coast of Chile. It was an unspectacular environment, in which Davis was working as usual
identifying caught species, spotting for IUU vessels (Illegal - Unreported - Unidentified) and
overseeing transshipment processes, tasks which were a regular part of a standard day at sea for
an externally contracted observer. Though not technically part of the crew, he would collaborate
with officers to obtain their data records on fishing catches and activity. But ultimately, the true
nature of his job, as clued in his job title, was to be an independent set of eyes.
Last seen by the crew at 2.50 pm, Davis was overseeing the final transfer of tuna from the fishing
vessel to his own transport ship, a process reported by the crew to have lasted only about 10
minutes, during which time they went off for a break.
When they returned to seek his sign-off, Davis was nowhere to be seen.
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