THE Transport and Harbours Department (T&HD) said, on Thursday, that repairs have been effected to the damaged stairway at the Georgetown Ferry Stelling, which facilitates boarding and disembarkation of passengers using the speedboat service plying the Georgetown/Vreed-en-Hoop route.

The plight of commuters using that service had been highlighted in a newspaper article after the stairway had collapsed during an accident on Monday, June 9, 2014.

The T&HD has, however, expressed concern at the way some sections of the media had portrayed the recent problem. In a press release, the Department said the stairway is used by small passenger boats plying the Georgetown to Vreed-en-Hoop service; and at approximately 09:45 hrs, the department received a report that a speedboat had made a hard mooring that had crashed into the stairway, causing three steps of its steps to become dislodged and cutting a tie-rod that held the string boards together.

T&HD said workers were immediately dispatched to effect repairs to the stairway because management of the Transport & Harbours Department is very mindful of its obligations to provide safe access to persons using the service, but greater care and cooperation must likewise be exercised by boat captains.

The Department has said further that it would be working with the Maritime Administration Department to rein in reckless captains like the one whose boat had damaged the steps.(M. Outridge)