By Joseph Allen
Thirteen speedboat operators are now counting their losses while pondering their next move after an early morning fire ripped through their boats which were moored at the Vreed-en-Hoop Stelling, West Coast Demerara.
Six other boats were also damaged by the fire.
According to the Guyana Fire Service (GFS), a call was received at about 01.49 hours yesterday stating that there was a fire at the Vreed-en-Hoop Stelling.
The GFS responded with a water tender and crew from the La Grange Fire Station, along with fire boat Protector #8 and a crew.
Upon arrival at the scene, firefighters observed several boats on fire and immediately sprang into action.
When the fire was finally contained, it was reveal-ed through police investigations that the blaze started from the stern of a vessel that was moored on the southern side of the stelling, which quickly erupted and spread to nearby vessels, destroying them.
Persons at the scene were questioned including the watchman, who was placed in police custody pending investigations. The origin of the fire is yet to be determined, as more investigations are ongoing.
There were no visible CCTV cameras nor bright lights in the area in which the incident occurred.
The boat operators explained that they would pay $1,000 per night for security and at the time of the fire some 59 boats would have been at the stelling. For security reasons, they added that the boats are not moored with fuel.
The boats were said to cost over $5 million each and were not insured. One operator when questioned as to why this was so, responded that when he had approached an insurance company for coverage, he was informed that they did not insure small boats.
Aftermath
Secretary of the Demerara Speed Boat Association, Eoshan Khemraj, who also lost his boat in the fire, spoke to Stabroek News about the incident. He related that about 2 am he got a call from the watchman about a fire at the stelling and he immediately rushed there.
“When I ask security what happen he said he saw one boat on fire and by the time he run to tell the police about the fire all the other boats catch fire. So, he could not have done anything.”
According to Khemraj, everyone is in a state of shock and it appears as though no-one has a clue as to what may have happened.
In the face of their losses, he said the operators will now have to see what sort of help they could get from the government or elsewhere so that they could get back on their feet.
“In time we got to see what help we can get, but today is a holiday. So, we have to wait till tomorrow.”
He assured that despite the fire, there is still adequate transportation for commuters, however, the families who depend on the business of transporting passengers on the water are now facing a severe financial setback.
Alim Bacchus, a boat operator who also lost his boat, echoed the plan to seek assistance as his family depends on the boat operation for their income.
“Well, we depend on these boats, and what are we going to do? What we will do is ask the government at least if they will help us back because it’s a lot of expense to do back one of these boats. All the engine everything damage. Roughly, it might cost close to $9 million to get back a boat with everything”, he said.
“Everyone is stressed right now. A lot of people are out of jobs and it’s a lot of expenses.” he replied when asked how the situation has affected the operators.
Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn, who was at the scene speaking to the owner/operators and other officials stated that the fire service did what it could to save the boats. He however cautioned that now might be a bit too early to determine what may have caused the fire.
“No, we don’t know as yet. We have some rules here that they shouldn’t be fuelling the boats to avoid them being stolen but we don’t know as it’s too early to say”, he said.
Regarding assistance, the minister pointed out, “it’s too early to say.”
This is said to be the first incident of its kind where so many boats have been lost to fire.
