Breaking his silence three weeks after the disappearance of his fellow crewmembers and boat captain along with the vessel at sea, the lone survivor, Vincent Dazell, yesterday said as the boat sank there was nothing that could have been done to save the crew.
Unclear as to why he is the only one who has survived to date, Dazell said when he was rescued, he was holding on to the life raft from the vessel.
“I momentarily went down and when I come up back I see the baskets and fishing tub floating around me. I was still holding on to the life raft but when I look I didn’t see nobody around me nor I didn’t see the boat… I float for like 45 minutes before they come and rescue me,” he recounted.
According to Dazell, when he was rescued by the fishermen on a small boat they had to lift him out of the water because “I had no strength to pull myself up. I deh catching cramps.” The survivor explained that even when he was in the boat he lost consciousness for some time.
The fishermen who saved him, he said, spent about three hours circling the area in a bid to rescue the other fishermen before deciding to head to shore. The area in which the mishap occurred, Dazell noted, is about 58 to 60 ft deep and even in the low tide it would be impossible to have visibility on the vessel.
He said that he could not recall the exact spot where the boat and his fellow crewmen disappeared. Nonetheless, he provided the team with the coordinates of the area where they last had a signal.
As it is, Dazell related that the ordeal has taken a toll on him and left him devastated but he continues to hope that the men will be found.
“This is a very devastating experience for me. Honestly I feel for the families. I have experienced this and since then life hasn’t been the same. I cannot eat or I cannot sleep properly. I sometimes jump out of my sleep and can’t sleep back. It is very very devastating…” he responded when asked how he feels about what occurred.
He went on to state that when the boat was taking in water they were not close to each other and he could not hear if anyone was screaming for help or not.
“I don’t know what happened to them I honestly don’t. When the boat was going down [Ronald] Burton and [Winston] Sam were on one side of the boat and I was on the other side… Nobody was standing close to me…Anthony had run back inside the boat to get his phone but I never see him back because the boat deh start sinking from the back and then it toppled,” he related.
Prior to the boat toppling, Dazell explained that they were awakened around 5.50 am on Saturday, February 19 by Anthony Damon, the captain.
He said Damon told them to check on the vessel after suspecting something was amiss.
“…the boat was taking a set of water. I open the ice hold and water was all over the place, and I checked the engine room and the gearbox was covered with water and I said Anthony this boat is in bad shape and I tell the guys let us put on our life jackets and we did that,” he said.
Dazell, who has been working at sea for the past 15 years, added that the captain was trying his best to make it to shore but the vessel was taking in water rapidly. He said when the captain sent the message to Noble House headquarters via the radio they did not get any response and before they could have attempted to make a second try, the power supply on the boat went.
“…the boat just keep going down all the time and he said he was going to get his phone to call the guy who takes the reports on the morning and with that he rush in back and the boat went down. I didn’t see him back because it was right then the boat toppled,” he related.
After being rescued, Dazell said he was brought to Unity Foreshore and dropped off by the fishers at the Mahaica Market. From there, he said he caught a bus and went to Noble House Seafoods and reported what had occurred. He said that after relating to the authorities at Noble House, he was taken to the Coast Guard Headquarters where he made a report and then was taken to Woodlands Hospital for medical attention.
He stated that when he related the story to the families of Burton and Damon, they were somewhat hostile towards him and he left the area. Even at present, Dazell said he wishes to be next to the families and offer some support but their resentment has kept him away.
The survivor added that on Sunday morning he was asked to return to the Coast Guard Headquarters in Ruimveldt but police showed up at his door after Burton’s family made a report about him.
“The police pick me up and tell me I am wanted for questioning for an alleged murder. They carry me and book me at Ruimveldt Station. I get to meet with the marines but I had to come back to the station. The Monday afternoon I went to meet with the Board of Inquiry and I give a statement. Tuesday I give another statement to police and then they take me to Providence [Police Station] and then they let me go after 5pm.” Dazell said he has been reporting to the police regularly and he has even given a statement to police at the Criminal Investigation Department Headquarters at Eve Leary, Georgetown.
As of Wednesday, Dazell said he met with Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill and related the story and answered several questions from the Minister.
It was during this meeting, Dazell disclosed to the Minister that he was not asked to accompany the search and rescue/recovery team in their operation at sea.
He stated that the fishermen that found him were the ones who assisted with the mission.
Edghill yesterday told Stabroek News that a decision will soon be made on the continuation of the search and rescue/recovery operation. With that in mind, he said he sought to hear from the survivor what occurred and all the other parties before making a decision on the operation.
“The search and rescue/recovery operations will have to come to an end at some point. But before we make that decision I want to be very sure and satisfied that I have heard all sides of the story and that we have tried and done everything that we possibly could have before making a decision,” Edghill noted.
The minister stated that red flags were raised when he learnt that the captain was not properly licensed. Expressing concern, he stated that this should not have been the case and this now raises many questions on the practices at sea and more so at Noble House Seafoods.
