Police have asked cargo ships, domestic vessels, tankers and cruise ships that use the high shipping area waters in which the Miss Janice disappeared, to report any sightings. There has not been one report of a sighting during the 10 days the boat has been missing. Police have therefore called off the air and sea search.

The police Marine and Air Operations Unit, as well as the Lynx helicopter from the RFA Wave Ruler, have been searching a 4,000 square mile area for five days, but no trace of the vessel or its six crew members (consisting of four Caymanians and two Hondurans) have been found.

Chief Inspector Malcolm Kay, the officer leading the search, said: “I have spoken at length with the family members of the crew, and they fully understand and support the decision to suspend the search.”

“As and when we receive any further information, we will of course resume searching if appropriate. But in the absence of any sightings or concrete information, we cannot search indefinitely.”

He added that: “We continue to speak with our counterparts in neighboring jurisdictions, and we will, of course, maintain close contact with the family members, providing them with the necessary support they need while we seek to find some answers for them.”

A statement released by the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS) this morning said the RCIPS was continuing to liaise with law enforcement and coast guards from Honduras, Cuba, Belize, Mexico and Jamaica, as well as getting support from the RFA Wave Ruler, which is the region on hurricane relief duty, and the regional United States Coast Guard to try to find the vessel.