Passengers were on Wednesday afternoon stranded on the Essequibo River after a boat that left Parika for Supenaam apparently ran short of fuel, the latest in a string of such incidents in the waterway.
The boat began to load at 2 pm and finished around 3.30 pm. Approximately 10 minutes into its journey the boat stopped. The captain of the boat tried to start the engine and after 30 minutes of trying his efforts proved futile. He then called another boat to come to rescue the passengers however when the other boat arrived he was finally able to get the engine to start.
He then piloted the boat back to Parika and went to a nearby gas station to fuel up. In the meantime passengers were running out of patience and there were several babies on board. The waves were very high and were hitting the boat and passengers became scared.
Their troubles did not end there. On the renewed journey to Supenaam, the boat cut off again and the captain tried a few times until he got it started again.
The frustrated passengers are calling on the Maritime Administration Department to have someone check the boats before they go into the river and also to have boats with two engines. Their journey had taken two hours instead of the normal 40 minutes.
In the last two weeks, two boats were grounded for three weeks before they could ply the area again. Operators are questioning why no action has been taken against the boat from Wednesday. Passengers are calling on the Parika/ Supenaam speedboat association to up their game and to fully investigate these boats.
