Relatives of missing crewmembers desperately hoping for a miracle
FAMILY members are hoping that continued searches by personnel of the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) would be successful in finding Julian Garraway, and John Van Sluytman –- owner and captain respectively of the “Chrisann V” — who have been unaccounted for since the vessel sank on Wednesday, February 29 in the vicinity of the Pomeroon River-mouth. Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle from her mother’s Stewartville, West Coast Demerara home last Tuesday, 24-year-old Tandeka Garraway, wife of Julian Garraway, said she was still hoping to see alive her husband of two and a half years, whom she had last seen on Tuesday, February 28th before he had embarked on the ill-fated voyage into the interior.
Although not a seaman, Julian was accompanying the excavator and mining equipment to an interior location.
Since receiving news of the tragedy, Tandeka has been crying every night, her mother, Desire Harris, related.
The Chrisann-V sank after it began taking in water following the failure of its engine. At the time, nine hands were on board the vessel. Five were initially saved, while two others were found on Saturday and Sunday respectively, as a result of search-and-rescue exercises conducted by the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD).
However, even though MARAD has shifted its operation from search-and-rescue to recovery, family members are still optimistic that those not yet found are still alive.
Last week, hopes were shattered and then rekindled after two crew members were found hours apart, just when persons had begun reconciling themselves to the fact that due to the lengthy time that had elapsed, the possibility of finding anyone alive was very slim.
Meanwhile, Desiree Harris, mother-in-law of the missing Julian Garraway, said she has been counselling her daughter the whole time. She said she had prayed with Julian the day before he departed for the interior, and recalled that after she had received word of the tragedy,  had unsuccessfully attempted to call her son-in-law.
Like everyone else, she was told that the crew on board the Chrisann-V had advised the now missing captain against continuing the journey, given the many problems the vessel had been having, but he had refused to ground the vessel.
She disclosed that a ‘family-friend’ who was present on the boat told her that had the captain heeded their advice, the boat would have never ended up in that sorry situation; and even if it did, it would not have been at the point where the water was extremely rough.
Tandeka Garraway told the Guyana Chronicle that it is real, sad that her husband is missing at sea, leaving her and their two-week-old son to fend for themselves. She said that after the baby was born, Julian Garraway had told family members that the birth of his son was a blessing, and that the baby was the one that would make him rich and achieve everything in life.
On Tuesday March 7, Harbour Master, Volton Skeete disclosed to this publication that the initial distress report did not provide any specific information that the department could have worked with at the time. He said it was reported that a tug and barge had gone down, when in fact it was a cargo vessel that was in distress at sea. He added that MARAD’s initial reaction was to check with all registered and certified owners of barges and tugs to find out if they had a missing vessel at sea. All persons that MARAD had contacted reported that their vessels were accounted for.
“You would recall that the Maritime Administration Department had announced that the Chrisann-V was not licensed and certified to operate at sea, thus that vessel was not being considered as one of the possible vessels that may have been in distress,” Skeete declared.