Last weekend’s capsizing of the Capt Saif reflects the perils of our waterways, a critical means of connecting coastal Guyana with huge swathes of the country’s interior.
journey from Georgetown
It is no secret that the facilities that provide the services to distant parts of the country are Spartan. Some say that on the sides of both the authorities and the service providers there is often too little regard for maritime safety regulations.
When Stabroek Business tried to speak with the Director of Maritime Safety on Wednesday he was not available. We received no return call. By a twist of fate, however, this newspaper met two businessmen who lost cargo when the Capt Saif went down. Sometimes, as we learnt on this occasion, official media releases tell only part of the story.
One of the two men told us that long before the Capt Saif departed the Guyana Fertilizer Company Ltd Wharf immediately adjacent to the old Giftland building there had been arguments about whether or not the vessel might be overloaded. There were some who watched the vessel leave who were doubtful that it would make it to Port Kaituma.
We asked the two businessmen whether it is customary for Maritime Administra-tion (MARAD) officials to be on hand to make a safety-related assessment before a vessel departs. Neither of them appeared inclined to proffer a response. It is a question that we would have raised with the MARAD authorities if we could find any official who was willing to talk. There appears to have been little change in the disposition of public servants to going on record. Up to Wednesday, the Captain of the sunken vessel, too, was not answering his phone.
We were told too that there were further disagreements on board the vessel after it had left Georgetown and that some time before the vessel went down some of the cargo had been cast adrift in order to try to correct what, by then, had