INITIAL investigations into the boat accident on the Mazaruni River in the vicinity of Crab Falls one week ago have revealed that both of the vessels which collided were operating without licences.

However, although this was discovered initially, the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) is still investigating the incident and trying to ascertain if initial investigations are one hundred percent accurate.
This is according to Safety Director at MARAD, Steven Thomas, as he spoke with the Guyana Chronicle yesterday, along with MARAD Director General Claudette Rogers and Navigation Officer Michael Tennant.
The Chronicle was informed that the investigations which are now in its infant stage will be seeking to ascertain the actual cause of the accident, and at which points the maritime laws were breached by the boat captains.
Yesterday, Ms. Rogers explained that a team will be heading back into the area to commence a full fledged investigation. She explained too, that the investigation was not started initially after the accident, since the priority of her department was to ensure that the persons missing were recovered.
That objective has been met with all the missing persons being recovered and pulled from the river  within four days of the accident. There was however some confusion as to the number of persons who were missing. Initial reports stated that nine persons were missing with the first being discovered on the night of the accident.
However, as the search continued, it was realized that one body, which was not listed as missing and as being on the vessel at the time of the accident, was recovered.
Ms. Rogers told this newspaper that the Maritime Administration was at the time working with the accounts of both survivors and the boat captain of the ill-fated boat. She said that while the captain stated that there were twelve passengers on the boat, survivors stated that there were fourteen persons on board.
Rogers said that with the three survivors, and the ten bodies recovered from the water, it is more likely that the figure given by the surviving passengers was more reliable.
However, she said that the department is satisfied that they have recovered all the bodies which went missing.
Meanwhile, yesterday, the head of the Maritime Administration Department also announced that the search has been officially called off. She said that the search was called off on Sunday after there were no further signs that more bodies were missing.
She said that now that the search is over, a thorough investigation is underway, and then a report will be submitted to Minister Robeson Benn.
The MARAD head said that at the moment there is no clear indication that the captains were or were not in receipt of operational licences.
Asked if they feel the captain of at least one of the vessels deliberately attempted to mislead the MARAD officials by stating that there were only twelve person on board, the officials said that they will hate to think that was the case, but again stated that the investigations will bring that out.
Thomas said that certification of a vessel has to do with several aspects. He said that they will only know if the 13 persons constituted a case of overloading. He added that this will only be determined when the measurements are taken to determine the size of the vessel.
Thomas told the Chronicle that certification also has to do with the seating capacity, the area the vessel will be operating, and if in addition to passengers, the vessel will be ferrying cargo. He made it clear that now is not the time to come to that determination since other aspects of the investigation have to be completed.
Meanwhile, River Navigation Officer Michael Tennant, who was in charge of the recovery process on the ground, said that the process was handled fairly well.
The team set up recovery camp a short distance from where the tragedy occurred. The strategic setting up of the camp saw the team being able to recover almost all the bodies in close proximity to where the collision occurred.
On Tuesday, a captain who is familiar with the area and who travelled to the location after the crash, was instrumental in the setting up of the camp. The captain related to MARAD officials that when he travelled to the area last Tuesday he noticed that all the items which were onboard the vessels and which were buoyant were all in one area.
It was that sign he used to advise the MARAD team where to set up the camp since the bodies were likely to come up in the same vicinity.
In light of the accident, there have been renewed calls for stricter monitoring and policing of the waterways.
Earlier yesterday, officials of MARAD met with Transport minister Benn when the team briefed him on the course of action as it relates to the investigations.