Among a plethora of breaches, Noble House Seafoods did not treat the initial call informing it of the vessel taking in water as an emergency. This revelation was made by the Ministry of Public Work’s Board of Inquiry (BoI) report which was presented last Friday to Minister Juan Edghill.
The company’s unpreparedness to respond to emergencies and the absence of proper training in emergency procedures significantly contributed to the events of February 19, which led to the disappearance of the captain and two crew members along with their vessel.
The team assigned to investigate the events that led to the disappearance of the men and vessel concluded that “the company’s lack of collective emergency preparedness contributed in large measure to the late response by the search and rescue agencies.”
The report noted that despite the fact that the team executed a thorough investigation, they were unable to determine the cause of the “flooding and eventual sinking of World Friend 307, as issues regarding the structural integrity remain unknown, since the vessel was not located during the course of the investigation.”
Lone survivor, Vincent Dazell, after being rescued, informed the company of the events that transpired that led to the vessel sinking and the disappearance of his fellow crewmen.
The findings of the investigations revealed that the vessel appears to have sunk at approximately 6.08 hrs. at Latitude 06° 49.86’ North, Longitude 57° 42.69’ West.
Those 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. It was reported that the vessel capsized and sank some 18 miles off the Mahaicony Coast after taking on water.
Among the findings, the report stated that the company lacked sufficient knowledge of policies and guidelines of the procedures to follow for vessels in emergency at sea. It was noted that the vessel’s incoming call to the base was made on a note pad without any record of time.
After the initial call was received by the company’s security supervisor, Peter Sardina, at 5.55 am on February 19, he informed the fleet supervisor Ramdeo Luthi. The call made from the VHF radio informed the company that the lazarette (the stern or the rear part of a ship’s hold) of the vessel was taking in water and that it was headed to the docks.
Subsequent to being informed, the fleet supervisor told the team that he instructed the security supervisor to keep trying to contact the vessel and that he would be coming into work. He related that when he arrived at 07:06 hours and tried calling the vessel, World Friend 307, as well as Noble House’s other trawlers he got no response.
The manager, Richard Jodah, the report stated, was informed of the situation at approximately 12.50hrs and he too instructed that they keep reaching out the vessel.
From the report it was stated that despite hours of no contact, those informed of the situation did not term it to be a distress call and it was never indicated that the boat was in imminent danger.
According to the Fleet Supervisor, it is common for vessels to take in water as some have small leaks. He told the investigating team that when the boat departed on February 13, it was in a “perfect condition. Ready to go to sea without any defect.”
Possible shaft cut
He posited that a possible shaft cut, could have been the behind the rapid accumulation of water, when asked what would cause a vessel to take in water excessively.
On the day in question, the report stated that while approximately nine other fishing vessels were at sea, none responded to the radio calls reportedly made from Noble House Seafoods.
Questions to the security supervisor on whether emergency procedures were followed were responded to in the negative.
With no formal training in radio responses, the supervisor told the investigating team, “We are just security. We only pass the message on.”
According to Sardina, the company does not have any written guidelines posted to aid in responding to radio calls. He stated that in the past, the company informed him that if there is any call of a boat taking in water, he should inform Luthi or any other person in senior management.
Additionally Noble House camera person, Angel Hope, related that from her monitoring of activities in the fishing district, there was no indication that the vessel moved from its position between the restricted zones.
“Yes I did see it. I could see it but the time didn’t change and it hasn’t changed up to now,” she responded when questioned if she had seen the vessel.
Meanwhile, the BoI report stated that the account of the survivor and that of Noble House’s security in respect of the extent of the emergency differs, indicating a failure in communication.
“In that Mr Dazell claimed that the captain in his call to Noble House informed that the vessel was taking in water and sinking, while Noble House Security claimed that the caller informed that the vessel was taking in water in the lazarette and heading to docks. The former is an expression of an emergency, while the latter is a communication indicating a relatively regular occurrence not treated as an emergency,” the report stated.
Furthermore, the findings of the report disclosed that the communication systems used by Noble House trawlers are restricted to Marine VHF radios and cell phones and these are limited by range/distance from land thereby preventing accurate communication with crews at sea.
In its recommendations, the team suggested that the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) implements systems that require fishing companies to ensure verification of certification is done for their vessel captains to ascertain authenticity. It was also pointed out that dry-docking regulations for fishing vessels in Guyana be created and implemented to reinforce safety standards.
It noted that fishing trawlers should be fitted with bilge alarms, which will alert the crew members of above normal water levels in ship spaces; so that early responses can be made and be subjected to insurance that will provide coverage in similar situations.
The team recommended too that the communication system be improved throughout the fishing industry to provide complete coverage of the fishing zones. Additionally, the search and rescue agencies should be equipped with adequate resources to provide for faster and more efficient/reliable responses to marine emergencies.
Adequately certified
Concerning crew members, the team proposed that all fishing companies engage the services of adequately certified seafarers and also conduct the required training for their trawler crew and monitoring staff to handle emergencies.
Last Thursday when the report was handed over to Edghill, he disclosed that marine inspectors at MARAD have been given a mandate to inspect and certify all fishing vessels before they can operate at sea. The Minister stated that apart from the measures to tighten the operations, fishermen will be subjected to safety training and their licences verified.
“As a result of this incident, there can be no guessing that it will not be business as usual as it relates to the regulatory framework in which the fishing industry operates in Guyana, and it cannot be business as usual as it relates to the use of waterways, what we do and how we do it.” Edghill added that moving forward, “safety and the establishment of strong minimum standards to ensure safety and capacity to respond and the establishment of protocols must be clearly defined.”
When asked by this newspaper if Noble House Seafoods faces any sanctions for failing to report the distress call from the vessel early in the morning, Edghill responded, “once culpability or negligence is established, I’ll have the Attorney General examine that because if there is a matter of negligence, culpability, and families are suffering then there may be a need for compensation.” He stated that after perusing the report he will engage the state legal advisor Attorney General Anil Nandlall for advice on the way forward.
The Public Works minister said that the search crew spent 936 hours at sea and scanned over 1,800 nautical miles for the men and the vessel two Mondays ago when he announced the suspension of the search for the three men.
The families have said that the stories being told by the lone survivor, Vincent Dazell, and the men who rescued him are inconsistent.
Dazell two weeks ago told Stabroek News that when he was rescued he was clinging to the life raft from the vessel.
“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.
“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 multi-agency BoI team was chaired by Flores and comprised Yurlander Hughes, of the Transport and Harbour Department; Ronald Charles, Ministry of Public Works; Rawle Williams, Guyana Defence Force Coast Guard; Ewart Wray, Guyana Police Force Maritime Unit; Dwayne Vyphius, Occupational Safety and Health Officer at the Ministry of Labour; and Denzil Roberts, head of the Department of Fisheries at the Ministry of Agriculture.
