– Agriculture Minister orders full investigation
‘CAPTAIN LLOYD 97’, a fishing trawler owned by Pritipaul Singh Investments, exploded sometime yesterday while out at sea, and four crew members were rescued after suffering burns.
What caused the vessel to suffer this fate is the subject of an investigation, according to the Minister of Agriculture, Robert Persaud.
The Minister said that though reports were sketchy, his understanding is that a fuel line might have been responsible for the explosion on the vessel.
The Minister had sought the assistance of the Coast Guard and the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) in mounting a search and rescue exercise for crew members of the vessel and also to engage the owners in the search.
Minister Persaud said that after the rescue was executed, an aerial reconnaissance was done but there was no sight of the vessel.
According to Persaud, the explosion reportedly occurred while the vessel was more than 100 miles out in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
The Minister said that he has ordered a full investigation into the incident, and has pledged the Ministry’s commitment to assisting with the care of the rescued crewmembers.
After making the six-hour trip in to Port Georgetown, the rescue craft bringing the crewmembers was to have docked at Pritipaul Singh Investments wharf at McDoom on the East Bank of Demerara at 21:00h last night, where medical personnel were on standby.