Norwegian billionaire was boating accident victim
Erik Henriksen
(CNS): The RCIPS is still investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of 58-year-old Erik Henriksen, who was pulled from the North Sound Monday and pronounced dead later at the George Town hospital. Police believe that he and a second Canadian man were thrown from a speed boat. The Norwegian billionaire, who was the former chairman of the European energy company Noreco, owned property here and was a frequent visitor to the Cayman Islands.
The RCIPS has still not stated how they believe Henriksen was killed but unofficial sources said that his boat was seen by witnesses spinning across the North Sound with no captain and was later found in the mangroves. The man who was with Henriksen was rescued from the water by the Joint Marine Unit and police said he is assisting the investigation.
Just last month members of the Legislative Assembly agreed to introduce a test for boat pilots and owners of vessels over 21 feet with engines of 150HP or above because of concerns about the dangers of novice captains in powerful vessels.
Category: Local News
I knew Erik personally and professionally for over 20 years, stayed at his various homes with his family as well. He was someone who lived for life….cars, planes, his family. His need for ‘speed’ is well-documented…cars, planes, heli-skiing, etc. he was one of the most generous, down to earth people I ever knew. My heart goes out to Anne, Stephanie, and Sebastian.
I got to know Erik over the last two years when he started to visit Ireland. I am really saddened to hear of his passing. He lived life to the full but society has lost a great friend and advocat. My thoughts and prayers go to his family. He was unique.
I met Erik when I was asked to drive him a few years ago while he was here in Cork Ireland and ever since we became great friends. He was not only my customer but a dear friend. He always put a smile on my face because he was so straight and never minced his words. I am in shock to hear of his death. My thoughts are with his family. Rest in peace Erik.
Dear Anonymous poster – one who states you knew Erik for over 20 years.
My wife & I met Erik on a recent visit to Amsterdam this year, we spent quite some time with him, he also tour guided us both through parts of the city, provided us much value and we even planned a visit to Cayman Islands as he invited us to visit him.
We are shocked and saddened to read what happened and have been wanting to send our best to his pilot Sebastian who we had also met and who we also saw as very close to Erik.
We unfortunately did not obtain Sebastian’s details as we had planned to meet again through Erik.
Having known Erik for 20 years, would you by any chance have an email or something you may be able to send to us? stranger_7@hotmail.com
If not, we are sorry for you as well as you were close to him and hope you are able to get back to us,
Best regards,
Gabriel & Sophia
A person has tragically died and people argue who the best sailors are/were, who the best investigators will be/not be, and whether the vessel was operated correctly. Does it mean that if he didn’t use the “kill switch” correctly he deserved to die this way? Does all of this bring any comfort or closure to his family? Is this really how shallow we have all have become?
Both of you just SHUT UP! Ya’ll worse than Tom and Jerry!
I only met Erik once but he seemed a good kind man full of life. RIP Erik.
Condolences to his family and friends.
Anon 815am 11:57pm Why don’t you ask your UK commissioner of police which senior foreign RCIPS Marine Officer was at helm of the vessel involved with the death of Marco Rankine and why he was quietly remove from his post as head of the Marine unit and place elsewhere. This island is sick and tired of your kind running us down if it is so bad why don’t you go back home? My condolences to the Mr. Henriksen’s Family and friends.
Ooohhhhh, somebody’s got a stick up his a##e, but let’s not let facts get in the way of a good rumour. Why don’t you ask how many ‘local’ officers have been quietly removed from the Marine Unit for sexist behaviour, drinking on duty, incompetence etc…..?
You are quite pathetic, the ‘go home’ argument doesn’t work bobo and who is ‘us’ anyway? I am home and here to stay, so get used to it as I’m a Caymanian, but a proud one, not one that constantly whines that ‘we’re becoming extinct on our own island’. I believe in free speech, hard work and education, what’s your excuse?
And finally, don’t need me to run you or your paranoid insecurities down, you do magnificently on your own.
Oh my Erik. You will be missed.
Good points ” Fred the Diemaker @ 10:45 am”.
However, I find it worthy to highlight the fact that the Caribbean is also littered with islands settled and established by its native people for thousands of years before the Brits, Spanish, French, Dutch (and eventually USA) even knew how to row a riverboat much less sail an ocean.
Furthermore, granted the first White European to arrive in this part of the world was an Italian, this was subsequent to the Trans-Atlantic arrival of the Asians (Chinese) and Africans (Olmecs / Dogon / Caral).
*Note: The Africans enjoyed a robust, friendly, and slave-free trading relationship with the Asians for hundreds of years before Europeans arrived in either continent.
Don’t be alarmed by this information, western governments, religions, scientific and historical institutions, and education has spent the last 500 years destroying and covering it up.
“Why” you ask? Easy answer; To guarantee the very reaction that most people are having as they read these very words. They were relatively successful in their endeavours as the course of modern western history is “justified” and fits in well with what was to follow.
Anyway, I’m expecting a shower of negative thumbs and comments, but it just goes to show that when it comes to certain issues, the masses tend to vigorously defend ignorance and misinformation.
The brave, decent and intelligent amongst us prefer to research beyond European drafted, endorsed and institutionalised textbooks for evidence in this regard.
*A simple Google search is your friend right now. Your choice though.
You know who were the best at the sailing mularkey before Britannia ruled the waves? The Norwegians. Now shut up and get some perspective on what this story is about, put your little anti-European rant away and show some respect.
Yes, a pro-truth perspective does translate into an anti-European perspective.
No, but a chip on the shoulder of someone mediocre might cause them to mistake their prejudices for objective truth.
As does a centuries-old chip on the shoulder of Brits and Europeans as a collective.
The evidence is clear and in great abundance.
I wish you and your friends a happy “pirate’s week”.
😉
Instead of a “troll” button there should be a “tool” button.
cause everything on the internet is true…just ask my Swedish model girlfriend. I think you just might have a hate on for white people. Believe it or not black people can be racist…and it sounds like you might be. And oh yeah…if you think the Asians and Africans got along well…go visit china as a black man and see the love for your self.
Why are you assuming I am not white and that I am racist against white people?
Because I speak truth?
Think about that for a second … then think a bit further.
Don’t worry, you’ll get there eventually.
Troll. Pure and simple. A sad little angry thirty something male. Skin color irrelevant.
Thank you for proving the points I raised in my earlier post.
Sad.
I think you will find the Egyptians and ancient Greeks may have a slight lead on the Norwegians. Not that it matters in a sad case like this.
This reads like the sort of bunkum Whodatis spouts. Surely there are not more of them?
Whodatis has clearly left quite an impression on you.
There is hope at last.
As for the original post being “bunkum” – we will leave it to you to elaborate on that rather vague and sweeping analysis.
However, we understand why many would prefer to categorise the issues at hand as such.
If we revisit the earlier post that first referenced the Europeans, we see the usual and centuries-long, government-sponsored rhetoric of countries, nations, cultures, land and history being irrelevant, non-existent or inconsequential until a White European arrived on the scene.
That, my friend, is despicable … and unfortunately, is also the foundation upon which western civilisation has been constructed.
Quite comforting and empowering for some though. I would wager a bet you know a fair few of said some.
🙂
So if there were so many great African, Asian and Central Caribbean Mariners, who the hell are they and why don’t the ‘prophet’ seekers in Afro-Caribbean history seek to inflate their significance? After all, we now live in a world where the paranoid rantings of those who think there is a white conspiracy can be heard, despite obvious proof to the contrary.
A demonstration of your ignorance is your final aside. Google is definitely not the oracle in regard to any form of history as it is obviously open to abuse and personal interpretation.
But then why let facts get in the way of your fake ‘cultural’ search.
Oh dear.
It is like talking to a brick wall sometimes.
My friend, the information is out there – it is simply up for the researcher to find it.
Actually, much of it has been there all along but it has been repackaged and presented in a false and misconstrued manner.
Yes, it is a very disheartening and shameful journey to the truth – however, the light you will find at the end of the tunnel is amazing.
You only have to open your eyes and free your mind.
Your choice.
Had the boat’s “kill switch” been clipped to the man driving the vessel Erik would probably still be here today.
Do you know for certain that it wasn’t? I agree that it look s as if it wasn’t, but neither of us were onboard when the accident happened. “Sh1t happens” and not everything works as it was supposed to when needed. Doesn’t matter if the deceased was Prince or Pauper; Saint or Sinner, a man has died and nothing can change that. If a proper investigation is carried out we may learn lessons that can help prevent this happening again. The family also deserve a proper investigation into the accident and any lessons that can be learned for the future.
Is any police service up to this job?
no he wouldn’t, by the time he fell from the boat he already had bumped his head.. that will have made no difference, not in this case. good point though…
Media houses really need to stop with the sensational headlines. A man has died. What difference does it make if he is a rich man vs a pauper? I checked the Forbes list of billionaires and did not see his name.
Makes no difference though his loved ones are grieving
RIP
Was he a philanthropist? Did be help a lot of people? If so, I think he should be recognized.
Seems to me that he shall be recognized for all the good he did do with his money. He donated a lot of money to Cayman over the years for various different things!
Sincere condolences to the family and friends of the victim.
Proper boat handling is a learned skill, the same as driving a car, riding a motorcycle, flying a plane, driving a train or operating any other type of conveyance.
If you drive please don’t drink and if you drive don’t text or operate cell phones; as it only takes a split moment of distraction and everything goes absolutely out of control. Most modern boats and other watercraft are equipped with ‘kill switches’ which you wear around your wrist or at the waist, in case you get thrown from your watercraft; it automatically shuts down your engines. Please wear them at all times, the same as you wear seats belts in automobiles.
Death is not prejudice. It’s the only thing that is absolutely sure in life.
God help us if the RCIPS joint marine Unit are left to investigate this!!!!! The capable people who could investigate this are long gone. Please save us the embarrassment and bring in capable people from his home country to avoid this blowing up in our face with more questions than we can even think of answering and making us liable and a laughing stock of the international media. Please no dry land experts from the UK either?
Concerns as to the investigation are heightened given reports about the competence of the response to the incident when the alarm was raised.
Never miss a moment to take a swipe at Cayman eh?
XXXXXX
I trust the resulting, very expensive invoice of the “real experts” that you insist upon will be footed by the deceased’s estate.
He was in Cayman waters as he embarked on his misadventure which unfortunately ended his life. It is unreasonable to now insist on foreign entities to figure out what happened … unless, of course, his family and estate are willing to pay the costs in full.
We have many accidents in our waters and on our roads, some involving very expensive and sophisticated vehicles, due to misadventure – but never have we heard of a request to import special investigators to settle the matter.
Condolences to his family and friends.
Good Grief, a man dies tragically and you are counting his money…jeez, Cayman kind.
Condolences to the family.
If your comment was in reply to my previous post then you are way off base my friend.
On the contrary, I am pushing for the usual method of investigation to be employed regarding this tragedy – thereby sparing all parties any extra expense.
Anyway, I will back off now as this is now bordering on the edge of offensive as friends, family and loved ones of the deceased may be reading these words.
Condolences once again to everyone affected by his passing.
“Usual method” – by that you mean a botch job at the best of times when there is concerns that there might be good reason for a cover up by the authorities?
‘Please no dry land experts from the UK either’. That just about sums up the ignorant attitude of some who believe this speck of rock has the monopoly on seamanship.
The UK’s Maritime and Coastguard Agency/Maritime Accident Investigation Branch is a world leader in maritime safety, add into the mix the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and the Royal Yachting Association and I reckon the UK has more expertise in maritime safety than almost any comparable country in the world.
The U.K. Is one of the worlds great maritime nations and this place wouldn’t exist if it hadn’t been, please don’t show your pathetic bigotry without getting your facts straight first.
Get your chip off your shoulder before accusing someone else of bigotry. Poster said “dry land ” experts from the UK. There is nothing in the face of what he said to imply that he considers that all experts from the UK are “dry land” and unqualified – the literal meaning is he wouldn’t want someone from the UK without qualifications. As for this place “not existing” unless the UK had been maritime experts, quite apart from the relevance of 17th Century maritime expertise to the investigation of a 21st Century powerboat accident, can I point out the islands were first located by an Italian navigator and first claimed by the Spanish, and the Caribbean is littered with islands established by the Spanish, French, Dutch and US.
What’s your point Fred, as you seem to believe that all maritime safety experts are constantly at sea. Where do you think these experts are based, on a floating platform somewhere or in a modern office in Southampton?
Why would anyone with an ounce of common sense presume that the UK would send an unqualified investigator when they have such a wealth of expertise. But to be honest, why would you need an external investigator, there was a witness who survived. Surely his statement will give even the hopeless RCIPS Marine Unit some clue as to the cause?
Me thinks the poster is a little islander with no clue as to what goes on in the big wide world and you are just a sad apologist for anti UK sentiment.
And as for the chip, Columbus only noted them as he sailed by, and the Spanish rulers of Jamaica, (prior to the Treaty of Madrid) made no effort to colonise these rocks. So, it was indeed the British navy and her people who colonised and put Cayman on the map, not anyone else. It’s recorded history, at least understand it before trying to be clever.
The relevance of the 17th century is that without that long history of maritime activity, the U.K. wouldnt have the expertise you so desire in the 21st. Surely that’s not that hard to understand?
And in any case, how do you know what the poster meant, what are you putting in your pies Fred, probably the same as in your posts by the sound of it?
You know the UK is an island right? Surrounded by water? Just checking.
Why? Because it says he was a billionaire? Do you write this every time somebody passes away in Cayman by accident or otherwise, rich or poor?
Very sad. RIP.