RECENTLY, a boat collision in the Mazaruni River resulted in a terrible

tragedy with some nine persons losing their lives senselessly, leaving their families and relatives in a state of shock and with life-long emotional scars. At the same time, some of those who lost their lives in the tragedy would have been breadwinners and therefore their dependants would have a difficult time eking out a living.
Bearing in mind that this tragic boat accident came only after a couple of months after a similar one in the Essequibo River and another one during the Bartica Regatta, where a veteran speed boat racer died, the question of safety in our rivers as regards the use of boats should certainly be high on the agenda of the Maritime Administration (MARAD)
According to U.S. maritime officials, collisions are the most common boating accidents, but capsizing and falling overboard claim more lives.
In fact, according to the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Coast Guard, in 2004, the most reported type of boating accident was a collision with another vessel. However, capsizing and falls overboard are the most reported types of fatal accidents and accounted for more than half – 57 percent – of all boating fatalities.
UL, a global safety organisation, says most boaters are not prepared to deal with boating accidents when they occur, and even experienced swimmers may panic and find themselves in danger.
With regard to the Mazaruni boat collision, initial investigations have indicated that both boats which were involved in the accident were unlicensed and certainly raises the question whether there is proper monitoring of the operations of vessels in our rivers. The ongoing investigations should get to the bottom of the matter as it smacks of a negligence of duty by those who are responsible for the licensing of boats.
In addition, it means that these boats could have been unworthy of plying the rivers and as such could have been the cause or major reason for the tragic accident.
It also raises the question of whether there are other unlicensed boats operating in our rivers. If this is so, then it certainly poses further dangers to life and limb. And therefore there is need for an urgent review into all boat operations across the country, particularly speedboats.
Another aspect which needs greater scrutiny and monitoring is the state of captains when they are operating their boats as it is likely that many of them are under the influence of alcohol or even illegal drugs,
According to U.S. maritime authorities, many boating accidents result from alcohol use, and most of all boating fatalities could have been prevented by wearing personal flotation devices.
Drinking while boating is just as dangerous as drinking while driving an automobile because if you do either, you’d be better off in the long run to donate your boat or donate a car to charity rather than becoming another boating accident or automobile accident statistic.
It is therefore an imperative that our maritime administrators look much more closely at the state of boat captains when they are on duty, because like our roads our rivers are getting busier on a daily basis, particularly with the boom in mining operations.
Based on these recent tragedies in our rivers, it is abundantly clear that it cannot be business as usual in our rivers and there is not only a need for a thorough investigation into the Mazaruni River tragedy, but rather there should be an entire review and revamping of our maritime administration.