The Ministry of Public Works and the Transport & Harbours Department (T&HD) said on Tuesday that remedial works on motor vessels, MV Kimbia and MV Barima are still ongoing and “will be completed soon.”
It has been confirmed by the engineers that the MV Kimbia will be out of dry-dock on January 30, while the port main engine of the MV Barima will be fixed by February 3. In the case of the MV Barima, the critical parts were ordered last week and will arrive in Guyana on Friday, January 29.
According to the release, the original dates for completion and sailing could not be met due to the severity of the defects on each vessel. However, inspections conducted by technical personnel from T&HD and external contractors on 26th January 2021 confirmed that over 70 per cent of the works were completed. This, T&HD says is commendable since the usual delivery time is 3 weeks and it attests to the urgency given to repairing these vessels and getting them back on their routes.
The MV Kimbia was dry-docked on January 15 to undergo emergency works as a result of deterioration of the forepeak bulkhead plating. As emergency works continued, it was discovered that the deterioration was more severe and had extended to other neighbouring areas, thus requiring more repairs. The vessel was last dry-docked in 2015 and was scheduled for a similar exercise in 2018 but this never materialised, until now. The MV Barima was last dry-docked in 2017 and no further works were carried out until now, when the vessel suffered an engine failure.
Persons requiring more updates can contact T&HD on 226-9730 or 225-9355 or visit the Ministry’s Facebook page.
