Three fishermen remain missing after their boat capsized in the Atlantic on Saturday morning and the government has convened a seven-member team to report on the incident within 14 days even as criticism mounts of Noble House Seafoods’ handling of the matter.
It was reported that the vessel, M/V WorldFriend 307 capsized some 18 miles off the Mahaicony Coast after reportedly taking in water on Saturday morning and it was only last night that the first public statement on the matter was made by Noble House.
Missing are Captain of the vessel, Harold Anthony Damon, 45; Ronald Burton, 78; both of Agricola and Winston Sam, 46, of McDoom, East Bank Demerara (EBD). Vincent Dazzell, another crewman from Agricola is the lone survivor to date.
With the seafood processing company reportedly failing to follow protocols since the initial report of the vessel taking in water and details of what occurred at sea remaining sketchy, the multi-agency team has been given 14 days to carry out a thorough investigation.
Noble House in its statement last night said that they were concerned about the disappearance of three of the four crew members who were aboard M/V WorldFriend 307. The Eccles-headquartered company says that an internal investigation has been launched to determine what occurred.
The statement issued by the company via its lawyer Roysdale Forde said it “wishes to assure the families of the crew members that they will continue to support all and every effort to locate the crew members and will continue to inform the relatives of all developments.”
While family members of the missing men say that the company did not make contact with them, the company statement said that upon learning of this incident they met with the relatives.
Further, Noble House Seafoods Limited says it stands ready to co-operate with any other potential investigation into this incident.
Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar and Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn yesterday named the investigating team at a brief meeting held at the Ministry of Public Works Boardroom, Kingston.
The team consists of Maritime Administra-tion (MARAD) Director of Maritime Safety, Captain John Flores; Guyana Defence Force Coast Guard, Lieutenant Rawle Williams; Ministry of Agriculture Chief Fisheries Officer, Denzel Roberts; Yurlander Hughes from the Transport and Harbours Department; Ronald Charles from the Ministry of Public Works; Senior Superintendent, Ewart Wray of the Guyana Police Force Marine Unit and Dwayne Vyphuis, Occupational Safety and Health Officer from the Ministry of Labour.
Indar said that the team has been given a mandate to probe the mishap within 14 days and report back to MARAD and other officials at the Ministry of Public Works.
Departure
“Those seven persons will be tasked to provide a report for the sequence of events commencing from the point of the place of departure from Port Georgetown straight through to the point where they received the distress call to confirmation that the boat (had) sunk…”, Indar said.
The team will also review the competencies of the Captain and crewmembers and all circumstances surrounding the incident and also obtain statements from the survivor and the relevant agencies.
“We have to get the facts of what really transpired,” Indar emphaisied.
Director General of MARAD, Stephen Thomas in brief remarks said that no report was made to the Light House or other relevant agencies subsequent to the distress call on Saturday morning.
According to Thomas, when such an incident occurs the usual procedure known as ‘the card’ is done. This, he explained to be the first person who is notified of the incident would report it to all stations within seconds. However, no report was made to any station by the company but rather an official report was made 24 hours after the mishap.
When asked if an examination had been done of the vessel, Thomas noted that every vessel is supposed to be examined every 12 months, but he was unsure if the WorldFriend 307 was examined before leaving the port.
Benn in his remarks said that he was made aware of the incident at 10 on Sunday morning and as such he notified the relevant authorities and ordered that an aerial search be done.
However, at 13:30 hrs, as coast guard personnel, including divers ventured out to do the search, the weather turned bad and so the search had to be abandoned. He further said that he was also informed that the divers went out back yesterday morning at around 6:30 hrs to continue their search but there had been no further update. A family member of Burton is among those on the search party.
The captain’s father explained to this newspaper on Sunday, from what was related to distraught family members, that after the SOS call was made, the captain was instructed to make his way to the nearest shore by the company.
Burton’s daughter Claudine Welch yesterday told Stabroek News that some of her family members have ventured to the Mahaicony Foreshore to be on standby in case the men were spotted. However, she noted that when she spoke with them during lunch yesterday, she was informed that the weather was bad and it was unclear if the search party was making any progress.
Tonszadel Beckles-Damon, wife of the boat captain recounted that the lone survivor so far, Dazzell, after making his way to shore on Saturday informed the company and family members of the missing crewmen of what had occurred.
He stated that just after 6 am on Saturday her husband woke up the crew members and instructed that they check the boat. The checks revealed that the engine room and other parts of the boat were taking in water.
This prompted the Captain to radio the company and lodge a report on what was transpiring. As the boat began to take in more water, Dazzell related that they were instructed to lower the lifeboat and get in. However, he told Beckles-Damon that her husband jumped back on to the vessel in a bid to retrieve his phone.
It is unclear what occurred after that.
“He tell me the boat drop and he went down and drank water and catch cramp all and blacked out but he was rescued by a fishing boat and they search for about three hours before returning to shore…when they meet, he said the men who rescued him gave him a bus fare and he come and tell the company,” Beckles-Damon recounted.
She pointed out that while Dazzell said that he returned during the course of Saturday afternoon, it was around minutes to 7 pm that night, they learnt of the tragedy.
As of yesterday, the families of the missing men remained hopeful that the trio has managed to survive.
“Nothing is impossible with God. Honestly speaking it is my one wish right now to hear they have survived. I don’t want to dismiss any hope because situations can change and they can return home… I am remaining hopeful,” Beckles-Damon optimistically said.
During a meeting yesterday morning with Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha, the family members were assured of government’s assistance in the search and a thorough probe. He stated that the family will have full disclosure of the findings from the probe and that they can rest assured that they have the government’s full support.
Mustapha met with relatives of the three missing fishermen at his Regent Street office. He also told the family that the incident has attracted the attention of President Irfaan Ali. Mustapha told the relatives that he remains hopeful that the men were able to activate their skills as experienced fishermen and survived.
