Dangerous situation at Parika/Supenaam route

Dear Editor,

In order to reach certain parts of Guyana, one of the main or fastest ways to reach there is by using boat/speed boats and, while numerous lives are being lost on our roadways, quite a lot have been lost by boat accidents and of recently, I’ve been travelling to Charity quite a lot and in order to reach there, I have to travel by speed boat from Parika to Supenaam, then take a taxi to Charity. October 2, 2016, was my latest visit and just as we left the Parika stelling (about five minutes after), the speedboat that we were travelling in hit a wave, causing the boat to swerve dangerously and tilt extremely close to capsizing on the left side (port side). All of the passengers were thrown to that side of the boat which caused almost everyone to be scared and some voicing their opinion openly.

Just Google “boat accident ‘Guyana’” and see how many accidents are caused by boats and how many lives were lost. A lot of rules were introduced or reintroduced for the speed boats and systems were put in place a while back; but sadly, somewhere along the line, there’s been a lapse and lawlessness prevails. Amongst the changes, monitors were put at the various stellings and I was under the impression that they were to ensure that all safety rules are in place before the boat leaves, but on my observations, that is not the case. The boat we travelled with on Sunday have Perspex windows and the front one clearly states that only 25 passengers are allowed on the boat but the boat left Parika with 28 passengers, plus the captain and bowman. Although the bowman and captain requested that everyone put on a lifejacket, many of the passengers choose not to and no monitor was present to ensure that everyone had a jacket on before leaving. When the boat reaches Supenaam, you pay either the bowman or captain when you disembark the boat and if you are journeying back to Parika from Supenaam, you have to pay the fare before the boat leaves Supenaam. Why is that?

I should mention that twice the same boat I was travelling in had to go close to land because they were experiencing mechanical problems and I know that people have to live but why risk other people’s lives? If the water is rough and one of the engines cannot work, it would be extremely hard to control the boat because the working engine would be on one side of the boat and everyone knows that steering a boat with one engine that is not at the middle of the boat is taking a chance.

That is why most of the boats plying the Vreed-en-Hoop/Georgetown route have to travel at a slow speed. The water is rough sometimes and the boats tends to bounce a lot and the seats are only fitted with what seems to be either ½ or ¾ inch sponge and that is very uncomfortable for passengers, especially those sitting at the front of the boat. Because of the constant jarring of the boats, they would get shaky and many boats have leaks and some have water coming in from the shed, which soaks those passengers from head to toe.

Finally Editor, most boat operators would tell you that it costs between $30,000 and $60,000 for them to obtain their captain’s licence. While it might look simple to just start an engine, shift it in gear and go, it’s very challenging to control a boat in rough water while travelling at high speed.

There’s a lot of nonsense happening at the stellings and these issues need to be addressed – they must be consistent not just wait for something to happen and then appoint a Commission of Inquiry to tell us what we already know and make recommendations. Many of these problems were there before the change of Government and this present Administration knew about these problems before they come into Government. The President uses his better judgment and appointed people to manage certain areas and they should ensure that things are in place for people to travel safely.

Sincerely,

Sahadeo Bates