THE Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) of the Transport and Harbours Department has released results of an investigation into the Pomeroon River accident which occurred on Tuesday December 18 taking the lives of six persons.
A release from MARAD states that a preliminary investigation was conducted immediately after the unfortunate accident and revealed that on the day of the accident, both vessels were travelling close to the left bank of the Pomeroon

River on a reciprocal or nearly reciprocal course when they collided.
The MARAD investigation has concluded that the collision was caused by one or both captains of the vessels failing to observe  international regulations for preventing collisions at sea and the Guyana shipping act of 1998 Sect 225 (1), which states: “All owners and masters of Guyana ships shall obey the collision regulations and shall not carry or exhibit any other lights or use any other fog signals than such as are prescribed by those regulations.”
MARAD has also reported while it was raining at the time of the collision, this did not obscure the captains’ visibility.
However, the investigation revealed that there were a number of breaches found to be in violation of the Collision Regulations. These include the failure to have a proper look out at all times; the failure to proceed at a safe speed so as to take proper and effective action to avoid collision; failing to alter the vessel’s course to starboard and failing to render assistance to operator and passengers.
MARAD has stated that life jackets have been distributed to some residents in Charity and Moruca areas in light of their main mode of transportation. Periodic visits have also been made by representatives from MARAD who are currently seeking to upgrade those vessels which transport passengers in that region and to hold training sessions for boat operators.
Although MARAD officials encountered some resistance from residents residing in the Pomeroon areas, they remain committed to the responsibility of ensuring safe operational practices in the quest to minimise maritime accidents on Guyana’s waterways.
MARAD has advised the Commander ‘G’ Division to commence instituting certain charges in keeping with the requisite regulations relative to this incident.
The Maritime Department has maintained an ongoing effort to make boat operators more aware of safety requirements and to improve on the quality of their services to the travelling public.
The police reported that the six people were killed when the boats collided into each other in the vicinity of Pomeroon River, near Guyana’s border with Venezuela.
Police said one of the vessels was owned by the Region 2 Administration.
The report stated that six people travelling in Bhagwandin’s boat lost their lives while 12 year-old Eli Orlando, suffered injuries and was admitted to the Charity Hospital.
Bhagwandin was among those killed along with three members of one family. The boat which belonged to the Regional Administration Office of Region 2 was returning from St Monica in the Pomeroon, after completing an exercise of distributing computers as part of the One Laptop Per Family programme.
Region 2 Chairman, Parmanand Persaud, who was in the area to hand over a tractor to the community on behalf of the Amerindian Affairs Ministry, was one of the passengers in the region’s boat. It was also reported that it was raining heavily, and all passengers in the boat were covered with a rubberised blanket when another boat with a 150 horsepower engine ran under the bow of the region’s boat. Passengers in the region’s boat were not harmed.