Seafood company, Pritipaul Singh Investments’ (PSI) has been condemned for safety violations in the June fire aboard its vessel which resulted in the death of a crew member and left another missing and presumed dead.
A report commissioned by the Ministry of Works also said that emphasis on maximizing production should not be at the expense of the health and safety of employees and contractors.
An investigation into three of the company’s facilities found among other deficiencies, lax safety measures and key managers with little or no “competence” in the area they oversee. The investigation at PSI’s Providence Shore Operations, McDoom Shore Operations and the Trawler Operations formed part of an inquiry into the deadly June 19 explosion onboard the PSI- owned trawler, ‘Captain Lloyd 97’ that left the Captain, Delbert Williams missing and presumed dead and saw severely burnt crewman, Orlon Munroe succumbing to his injuries weeks later in the hospital.
“It is abundantly clear that the emphasis in the Company is to maximize production, which is expected and understandable, but this ought not to be achieved at the expense of Health and Safety of employees and contractors”, the report says. No official from the company was available for comment yesterday. The report was released by the Government Information Agency.
In relation to the safety equipment aboard the Captain Lloyd 97, the report found that there was one small lifeboat on board without paddles or oars neither was there a bailer. There were no fire buckets on board, no hand or rocket parachute flares, no orange smoke signals, no code flags and no signal lamp.
In terms of maintenance, the report said that there is documented evidence of a malfunctioning alternator. There were several work sheets indicating problems with the alternator throughout this year but no signatures. The Fleet Operations Manager, Wilfred Singh, said that while he knew that there was a problem on the vessel “he was not aware of the specifics of the problem”.
The report was scathing in its conclusions in this section. It said that in keeping with the contract with the captain, the company undertook to provide a vessel that was structurally sound and fitted with serviceable equipment i.e. a seaworthy vessel. “The company was in clear breach of this obligation”, the report contended.
In analyzing the operations at Providence, the Board of Inquiry team found that there are no documented Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for any shore or ship operation and procedures for emergency situations. PSI’s Operations Manager, Taahir Ismail, is the person in charge of that location and he reports directly to Pritipaul Singh, the Chief Executive Officer of PSI, the report noted. PSI has not implemented any Quality Management System and Ismail, “an accountant by profession, has no technical qualification or competence, but is however responsible for the maintenance of vessels at Providence”, the report says.
It further pointed out that Ismail has responsibility for contracting Captains for vessels located at Providence, but he was unaware of the qualifications, if any, of Williams. “No one in the Company is qualified in Maritime Safety. The Operations Manager also has no knowledge if any Maritime Training was ever conducted in the Company”, the report says.
Neville Dallai, the Fleet Manager is the de facto number two person in charge of Providence Operations and is a mechanic by profession reporting directly to Ismail. His duties are to ensure the engines, winches and freezers on board the vessels are kept in good working condition and he has a staff of eight mechanics. Wilfred Singh, Fleet Operations Manager is responsible for ensuring the vessels are well maintained and equipped. “He was never exposed to any form of Technical Training and has no documented list of duties for his appointment”, the report says.
It pointed out that visits to the Providence location revealed that all the fire extinguishers inspected had expired and need to be serviced while others need to be replaced. It also pointed out that fire points were not numbered, fire extinguishers had no service certificates, personnel were not aware that extinguishers are to be serviced annually, no fire hydrants, hoses or nozzles were observed, there was no evidence that fire drills are carried out, there was no emergency plan in place, no evacuation plan compiled and no license from National Frequency Management Unit (NFMU) to operate Base Radio Station. It also found a “clean and tidy environment” and files were kept by the captains.
The report says that though the Operations Manager is the person responsible for contracting Captains for the Trawlers, “he is not conversant enough with the seafaring profession to determine their competence other than as it relates to experience and knowledge to harvest marine resources”. It also pointed out that there are middle management and supervisory personnel who are not adequately trained to undertake their duties professionally. The Inquiry found that personnel were “clueless” as to the requirements necessary to maintain functioning and serviceable fire- fighting equipment, hence the unacceptable state of these equipment and further noted that no Safety Management exists at the Providence facility.
As regards the McDoom Shore Operations, the report noted that the head Office of PSI is housed at this location. “Snapper Boats” are berthed at this facility. Fish and Sea Bob are discharged, processed and packaged here.
Certificate
Brentnol Gibbs the Occupational Health and Safety Officer of the Company is based at this location. “He has a Certificate in this discipline from the University of Guyana, but admits he has no knowledge of Health and Safety as it pertains to ships. Mr. Gibbs produced a six (6) page Occupational Health and Safety Booklet dated April 23, 2009 which he did as an assignment when he attended the Certificate Course in this discipline at the University of Guyana. The booklet however does not deal with anything related to vessels. Most of what it contains has not been implemented and it has not been made available to the management of the Providence operations”, the report says. Gibbs is also responsible for ships registration, annual dues and licences, fishing licences, disputes, compilation of data on production and exports and deals with accident reports.
The report observed that at the McDoom facility, a visit revealed a clean and tidy environment, serviceable fire extinguishers with tags, but no Certificates of Service, well painted fire lines and hydrants, fire hoses with nozzles, numbered fire points.
However, there was no evidence that fire drills were ever carried out; there was neither an Evacuation Plan nor an Emergency Plan. “Like the Providence Facility there is an understanding among senior and middle management staff of who is responsible for which functions, and also the chain of command. However documentation such as an Organisational Chart which clearly defines the structure of the Company, Job Descriptions for Staff at various levels, and specific action to be taken by employees in the event of an emergency are all non-existent. This location is better equipped to deal with emergencies such as fire, but again Safety Management is lacking”, the report concluded.
In analyzing the Trawler Operations, the report noted that the trawler is commanded by a captain who is contracted by the Company, and who, according to the contract “in no way shall be employed or deemed to be employed as an employee, servant and/ or agent of the Company”. It noted too that one paragraph in the contract says that “He (referring to the Captain) shall at his sole discretion employ only such persons who are skilled, physically fit and experienced for the work involved in working at sea and harvesting seafood. The amount of persons to be employed shall be at the discretion of the Contractor. The Company reserves the right without assigning any reason, to refuse to allow a person to be employed by the Contractor to work on the said vessel”.
Another paragraph makes it clear that the contractor is responsible for paying the crew while another states that the contractor is responsible for paying his, and the crew’s Income Tax and National Insurance Deductions. It was noted that Captains submit a “Captain’s Report/Work Sheet” to the Fleet Manager after each trip which is, in effect a defect report of equipment on board.
The report made several recommendations. It said that the management of PSI must as a matter of urgency seek to develop a Quality Management System; and “it is imperative that the author of this Management System be a qualified and experienced consultant with the relevant nautical knowledge and competence”. It also said that PSI must also seek to develop a Company Occupational Health and Safety Manual which must include Health and Safety on board vessels.
Unacceptable
“The Company must seek to place personnel in appointments relevant to their skill and qualification; it is unacceptable that personnel with no maritime training of any sort are in key positions of management of maritime operations. To this end, the Company should consider the employment of a qualified mariner among the shore staff, or the services of a Marine Consultant to periodically check that all things in relation to the vessels are in compliance with regulations”, the report says.
It also recommended that job descriptions for each position within the Company should be compiled, documented and should form part of the Quality Management System and the format of the Captain’s Report/Work Sheet must be changed. “A column needs to be included which would record exactly what action was taken when defects are reported. It must be mandatory for the relevant signatures to be affixed to this document”, the report says.
On safety, it says that the Company must ensure all emergency and safety equipment on shore and aboard ship are acquired and maintained in a serviceable state and emergency drills are to be carried out periodically ashore and on board ship.
It further recommended that with regards to recruitment, that the company must ensure it contracts qualified Captains and that these captains employ experienced crew members or at least persons who have attended the Basic Safety Training Course. As far as possible trawlers should have a mechanic on board, not necessarily as an addition to the crew, but as a utility man, the report says.
It added that the flow of information between and among management staff needs to be improved. PSI also must acquire a Base Station Licence and Call sign from the NFMU. Trawlers must acquire Ship Station Licences and Call Signs from the NFMU, it added.
MARAD
The report also made some recommendations for the Maritime Administration. It said that MARAD should seek to develop a syllabus for Skippers of Fishing Vessels. “The present practice of holders of Harbour Licences being deemed as competent to operate vessels at sea should be discontinued. The Guyana Harbour Regulations specifically state the limits within riverain areas where Licensees are authorized to operate”, it pointed out. Further, it says, it must be made mandatory that all seamen or potential seamen attend the Basic Safety Training Course and there must be developed standard operating procedures to be followed prior to departure. “Such procedures should contemplate checks to ensure that all safety and emergency equipment are on board before departing for sea. The emergency equipment must include hand and rocket flares, signalling lamp, orange smoke signals, life buoys with beckets and life lines and approved life jackets for each person on board. The length of life lines are to be in keeping with regulations and life boats must be properly equipped” it says.
The report urged MARAD to develop on board operating procedures to regulate activities such as the transfer of fuel between compartments of tanks and said that there must be clear guidelines to govern the handling of evidence to ensure its preservation for forensic purposes. The report was compiled by Captain R.E.W Adams – lead investigator; Captain Michael Tennant, River Navigation Officer MARAD; Lieutenant Commander Ron Charles, GDF Coast Guard; Major Gary Baird, Fisheries Department, Ministry of Agriculture and Amanza Walton-Desir, LLM, Legal Consultant to MARAD. The team was put together after Transport Minister Robeson Benn ordered an inquiry into the deadly fire.
