– calls for forensic analysis
aA Maritime Administration (MARAD) preliminary report into the Hog Island boat mishap, which left two people dead and a child missing, has confirmed that the army Coast Guard vessel had blue paint on its hull and has recommended a forensic analysis to determine its origin, a source close to the investigations said.
Since the accident, relatives had reported seeing green paint on the blue boat which Jainarine Dinanauth, his 10-year-old son Ricky and his neighbour Henry Gibson were in at the time of the collision, suggesting that it might have collided with a Coast Guard vessel or another green boat.
The men ended up dead after the August 11 collision and their bodies were found drifting just off the eastern side of Hog Island in the shattered wooden boat around 9:30 am on the day in question. There was no sign of the other boat that was involved in the accident and no report that it had contacted the authorities. The child, Ricky Dinanauth, who was also on the boat, is still missing.
Suspicions were rampant when days after the Hog Island incident, three Coast Guard ranks were apprehended for allegedly robbing then murdering Dweive Kant Ramdass, a Bartica gold dealer.
Initially there was no indication that the police were investigating any possible connection between the two incidents. Later, in a statement, the force said it was pursuing “green boat” leads in the crash, which led to the arrest of a suspect from the West Demerara area, but he was subsequently released after habeas corpus proceedings were filed in the High Court. According to the police, the man was questioned and denied being involved in an accident, stating that the boat he had in his possession on the night in question did not belong to him and had been returned to Venezuela.
A police statement said the man, while in custody, also claimed that he did not possess a green boat, but reliable sources had informed the police that the boat the man was using on the day in question was indeed a green one.
Yesterday, a source told Stabroek News that acting head of MARAD Stephen Thomas submitted the report which included an examination of both vessels. The source who explained that the report was a very preliminary one, also suggested that a lack of navigation equipment on Dinanauth’s boat, also contributed to the accident.
MARAD’s complete findings would be submitted to the police to aid investigations.
Meanwhile, the mother of the missing child continues to grieve and is adamant in her belief that the Coast Guard ranks were complicit in the incident. She has insisted that pressure must be brought to bear on the Coast Guard ranks currently in custody for them to say what they know.
The army had strongly denied claims by members of the public that its ranks were involved in the accident, after persons said that a Coast Guard green boat was dry docked for three days.
