Several days after Transport Minister Robeson Benn had indicated that a statement on the status of the North West Ferry, MV Kimbia would have been disseminated; it is yet to reach this newspaper.
Stabroek News contacted the Transport Minister last Thursday on the issue following an incident two weeks ago in which one engine of the vessel became inoperable during its return trip to Port Georgetown from Kumaka in the North West District, resulting in its arrival in the Capital City a day later. He had said that the statement would be distributed through GINA. GINA later said that it was unaware of it.
However, a news item based on the statement appeared in Saturday’s edition of the Guyana Times. The statement is still however to be received by SN.
The MV Kimbia departed Kumaka on August 6 around 6:30 am with 360 persons on board and developed an engine problem several hours later, around 5:30 pm, leaving it to limp along on one engine. It eventually moored at Port Georgetown around 3:30 am on August 8, with one passenger describing the trip as a nightmare while several businesspersons in the North West area made calls for the vessel to be replaced. The MV Kimbia has been plying the Georgetown/ Kumaka route for over two decades and is seen as a very important form of transportation to residents living there. It travels to the North West area on a fortnightly basis along with another vessel, MV Barima, which travels to Port Kaituma.