In the wake of the speedboat disaster that claimed the lives of two passengers travelling “backtrack” (illegally) from Corriverton to Nickerie, aut-horities in Suriname are enforcing safety regulations in an effort to prevent a recurrence.
Boat owner Fezal Mursaline of ‘Aunty’s Boat Landing’ said Suriname aut-horities held meetings on two consecutive days immediately after the incident with boat owners and captains.
Mursaline said the Suri-name authorities have instructed that the boats be equipped with cell phones, lifebuoys and cutting instruments such as knives to dislodge any obstacle that may snag their engines. It is also mandatory for the boats to be outfitted with lifejackets and for passengers and captains to wear these at all times.
He pointed out that the boats are now required to operate from 6 am to 5:30 pm, carry only eight passengers, and load by turn. Further, he stated that boats from the Guyana and Suriname ends are allowed to drop off passengers but must return to their countries empty.
Since these directives were put in place the one-way fare for the 20-minute journey has been increased from $1,000 to $1,500.
The boats, he noted, have always been registered in Suriname but now the captains have to be registered as well and each boat also has to “fly” a Suriname flag. The owners and captains were scheduled to return to Suriname for another meeting and an inspection of the boats to ensure that they comply with the regulations.
Almost two weeks ago a “backtrack” speedboat carrying nine persons capsized around 5:35 am, some 15 minutes after it had left Aunty’s Landing, when it became entangled with a fishing seine.
The owner and captain of the boat, a Surinamese known only as ‘Amit’ was held by police in Suriname but was later released. Stabroek News learnt that since the incident ‘Amit’ has not resumed working.
Two women, Hansranie, 44, of Annandale, East Coast Demerara and Cheryl Peters of Mocha Arcadia, East Bank Demerara died during the mishap. Hansranie’s body was found floating in the water by fishermen about 3 pm the same day while Peters’ partly decomposed body was discovered a few days later.
After the boat started taking in water Hansranie’s daughter, Malini Mohan, 26, called “Samantha”, phoned the minibus driver, “Dougla” who had taken them to Corriverton earlier that morning.
She had just finished telling “Dougla” that the boat was sinking and they needed help when it went down and she started screaming. Mursaline who was at the landing when the call came through immediately sent out his three speedboats in search of the persons.
Mohan, her mother, another woman and two children clung to a black bag containing cigarettes until help arrived about 15 minutes later. The other passengers held on to other objects in the water.
She told this newspaper that she was clutching her mother’s hand as persons were pulling them into the boat. But the woman slipped away from her grip after a rescuer grabbed her around her waist at the same time that a black bag was being pulled over her head.
She said she kept screaming that her mother had gone under the boat but she disappeared quickly.
Mohan who hails from Nabaclis, ECD, recalled that her mother kept asking for a lifejacket before entering the boat but none was given to her. There were no lifejackets onboard, and the captain left in a hurry, she said.
Enforcement
This incident has prompted the Suriname authorities to strengthen the regulations which have long been ignored by operators. An official has since been placed at the Suriname port to ensure that the rules are observed. Operators who fail to abide by the laws could have their boats seized and face stiff penalties, this newspaper was told.
Mursaline said that the Guyana government collects revenue at the three landings in Corriverton and had called on the boat operators to “stamp some authority and enforce the rules.”
The two other boat services are operated by Roy Ramdass and his brother Eno Bharrat who inherited the business from their parents. At the Suriname end there are four boat services.
According to Bharrat in all his years of business this is the first time a mishap has occurred. But he said the incident has not affected the business and people have continued to travel on a regular basis.
The boat owners said they are pleased that the authorities are taking steps to ensure that the rules are enforced since there was too much “pulling and tugging” of passengers.
Meanwhile, Mohan told Stabroek News that she travelled to Corriverton on Monday last accompanied by her father to uplift her passport and her mother’s death certificate. She is pleased that the passport was recovered but said it is damaged. Police also gave her a silver ring belonging to her mother.
While the passport had been recently renewed, she hopes that she can get it replaced “without a hassle” considering all she has already been through.
Mohan said she is surprised that only her passport was found and the bag that contained that along with a Razr cell phone, a black wallet with $27,080, US$1,500 and $5,000 in a separate pocket cannot be accounted for.
When she questioned the police at Corriverton about this they told her they do not know anything about the bag and the passport was handed over to them by a fisherman.
She stated that just after her mother was found a relative had recognized her passport from the picture but was told by the police that they could not hand it over.
Mohan disclosed that she relived episodes of that tragic day when she took her father, Harrynarine Mohan, known as Rudy to the landing to show him from where she and her mother had departed. She said the water seemed extremely rough and she vowed that the day she lost her mother and when she almost lost her own life would be the last time that she would ever travel in a speedboat.
She said as she stood on the landing, memories of the last moments she spent with her mother started coming back to her and she almost broke down in tears. She kept remembering how her mother was begging for the lifejacket…
At this stage her father saw how “tense” she was and took her away from the scene.
“Why?” she questioned. “Why didn’t they give my mother a jacket when she asked for it? It did not have to take the loss of a life to teach them a lesson. It is dangerous out there (in the water).”
The girl lamented, “Maybe my mother and Cheryl Peters could have been saved if they had jackets.” She was surprised to see everyone in jackets when she visited the landing.
She told this newspaper that the incident has affected her a lot and she is still being treated by a doctor. But she added that she felt a lot better after sharing her ordeal with reporters.
