A mid-afternoon fire in the engine room of the Lady Northcote yesterday caused panic and fear among commuters, though minimal damage was reported.
It was reported that while the boat was some five minutes steam time, which is approximately four miles, away from the Transport and Harbours Wharf at Kingston port there was an apparent leak, in the engine room, of diesel from a faulty valve on to an exhaust manifold that caught fire.
The captain subsequently stopped the engine and along with his crew began to go through fire procedures.
It took about 20 minutes before they got it under control. Some assistance was rendered by a tug and pilot boat to bring the vessel alongside the wharf.
At the time of this incident there were 49 passengers and 13 crew and staff onboard.
A female passenger told this newspaper that she heard a man say “fire blaze” and before she knew it everyone was collecting lifejackets. The crew tried to get the passengers to calm down but it wasn’t until they saw the tug alongside that they began to calm down.
She said she had to swing on a hanging rope to get to the lower part of the boat and was hit by a bag which bruised her hand. She said that in all this she began to pray and tell the other passengers to pray as well and remain calm.
This was because, she said, if anyone had jumped overboard they would have drowned because the water was rough
Contacted Minister of Transport and Hydraulics Robeson Benn said that the captain had gone through the safety procedure in case it became necessary to abandon ship.
Benn said the vessel was not damaged. He said the port engine may be damaged and the engine room’s paint; also one vehicle on board was scorched a bit.
“The vessel is the oldest, it’s about 68 to 69 years old,” the minister said.
The minister also sought to assure commuters that the incident would not interfere with the running of other vessels that use the same port and if all goes well the vessel will be back in service in time to continue its fortnightly service.
The MV Lady Northcote has for years been one of the main means of river transportation.
In February 2010, the vessel broke down at the Georgetown port and commuters with perishable items lost heavily.
Since then passengers have been pleading with the relevant authorities to improve the transportation system but evidently to no avail.
One passenger was overheard complaining, “the government spending money on new ting and ain’t looking after wha dey gat” making reference to the new roll on, roll off ferries.
The minister also used the opportunity to say that he was just returning from Parika, where construction of the wharf to facilitate the new roll on roll off ferries was ongoing.
He stated that they are expected to commence operations by this month end and noted that the delay was due to construction problems.
