The Martinique company, Somara AS, has been notified by Guyana’s Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) that its barge which collided with the Demerara Harbour Bridge on Sunday morning is being detained here until further notice.
“The vessel is detained at 15:00hrs on September 5, 2022 due to the following violations: Damage to property belonging to the Government of Guyana,” states a notification to the owners, which quoted Sections 439(3) of the Guyana Shipping Act.
According to a release from the Demerara Harbour Bridge Corporation (DHBC), on Sunday at approximately 11:31 am, a vessel -Desal 1- with two tugs – Alpha 1 and Chaka – transporting sand, was travelling northbound when it hit a retractor span (the edge of span 9) of the Demerara Harbour Bridge.
The collision pushed the bridge out of alignment, causing the breakage of the connecting end-post at spans 8 and 7, this in turn caused a transom to warp (open slightly).
The accident also caused several buoys to burst.
The extensive damage resulted in hundreds of persons being stranded on both sides of the Demerara River for almost seven hours.
While it did not give the name of the company, the DHBC also had said that it is in contact with the local consignee of the vessel and tug and barge.
The local consignee’s name is listed as J Bascoram and it was also pointed out that the Alpha 1 ship’s flag state is Guyana. The flag state of Desal 1 is Panama and the Marshall Islands for Chaka.
MARAD informed that the tug and barges will remain detained “until a notice of Release is issued by the Department.”
Every time the Demerara Harbour Bridge encounters lengthy retraction periods, it always results in chaos for commuters living at the western end. Although Sunday was not a business day, many persons were in Georgetown trying to do some last-minute shopping for their children to attend school, which opened on Monday.
At the Georgetown speedboat stelling, alternative arrangements had to be put in place for commuters since hundreds of persons flocked the small area trying to get home. The regular stelling area was packed to capacity with commuters heading from east to west.
This caused MARAD officials to utilise the Customs Boathouse area to facilitate commuters travelling from Vreed-en-Hoop to Georgetown.
On September 03, 2019, a tug and barge crashed into the bridge causing extensive damage. The tug, a Panamanian vessel, apparently drifted from Grove/Diamond on the East Bank Demerara and its crew belatedly issued a distress call. That collision caused major disruptions as well as repairs amounting to several million dollars. It is unclear if the company has repaid the costs incurred for the damage.
