–to fix Demerara Harbour Bridge damaged by vessel; BoI commissioned to investigate incident
–24-hour water taxi services available from Georgetown to Vreed-en-Hoop; new ports being considered

AUTHORITIES estimate that repairs to the Demerara Harbour Bridge (DHB) could take between 72 and 96 hours, with all necessary stakeholders collaborating and working around-the-clock to return the bridge to functionality, after a vessel crashed into the important piece of infrastructure early Saturday morning.

With the bridge inoperable, several persons from both sides of the Demerara River are affected in one way or another, but the Government of Guyana has instituted several interim measures to accommodate alternative means of transportation for commuters. One such measure is 24-hour water taxi services between the Georgetown and Vreed-En-Hoop stellings.

The Maritime Administration (MARAD) is also deliberating on the creation of a port for water taxis to travel between the DHB and La Grange, West Bank Demerara (WBD) and another between Wales, also on the West Bank, and a location on the East Bank of Demerara (EBD).

Barges are also being considered for the transportation of vehicles across the river. Parking spaces are being made available at the Providence National Stadium for anyone from the West Demerara whose vehicle is stuck on the EBD.

At an emergency press conference at the DHB Headquarters on Saturday afternoon, Minister of Public Works Bishop Juan Edghill said that the ministry and all of its various departments and agencies are working at top pace to fix the bridge.

According to Minister Edghill, the bridge, as a result of the collision, sustained the worst level of damages recorded to date.
“We are working very hard to see if we can get this done by Monday night, but that is being optimistic. The damages the bridge suffered is to a magnitude that we have never seen. All the stakeholders are at work. It may be 72 hours; it may be 96 hours. We hope we don’t have to go beyond that,” the minister said.

Edghill was joined at the press conference by Minister within the Ministry of Public Works Deodat Indar; Minister of Home Affairs Robeson Benn; DHB General Manager Wayne Watson; and MARAD Director-General Stephen Thomas among other key officials.

The senior Public Works Minister said that various members of the private sector have already been mobilised to begin manufacturing and providing the various components that are needed to repair the bridge.
“We want to assure the public that the Government of Guyana is doing everything humanly possible. We are sparing no resources; we are taking no shortcuts, but we want to deliver to you a service that so many people depend upon daily, and that is the usage of the bridge,” Minister Edghill affirmed.

Some of the necessary equipment for the repairs are expected to be delivered as early as today.
“We need to get a pontoon replaced that is badly damaged, and is taking in water. We need to get posts; we need to get other gears and mechanical parts to ensure the re-tractor can adequately work. So, several members of the private sector are engaged in the manufacturing and fabrication.

“We expect that as of tomorrow [Sunday], some of these components will be delivered. We have the assurance that we will get some of the end posts by tomorrow, and we should have the pontoon delivered tomorrow at 10:100 am,” the minister related.

FULL INVESTIGATION
Minister Edghill related that a Board of Inquiry (BoI) has been commissioned to investigate all the details surrounding what transpired in the accident.
At approximately 02:00hrs, the MV Tradewind Passion, a ship consigned by GuyOil to transport fuel, which also carries a Panamanian flag, crashed into the bridge with its side.

The ship, which was supposed to drive in a southern direction to pass through the opening of the bridge, instead drove in a south-easterly direction and hit Spans Nine and Ten with its front and rear.
This resulted in the two spans of the bridge shifting some 45 degrees out of alignment. The ship was the fifth vessel to pass through the bridge for the morning.

The collision sent several DHB workers, who were on the bridge at the time, literally running for their lives. One staff, Andrew Duke, who was communicating with the vessel via radio up until the point of collision, sustained a fractured leg, and has been hospitalised.

“The whole span started to crumble. We felt fear; we ran for our lives. It’s a big ship, and we all knew the kind of impact this thing would cause. We had people [on the bridge] conducting welding on the bridge, repairing deck plates, and everybody see it coming towards us,” said Ahmad Khan, a DHB Mechanical Maintenance Engineer who was among those on the bridge at the time of the accident.

Khan, who has been working with the DHB for the past 13 years, said:
“I’ve never experienced anything like this; it was a very traumatizing experience. On to now I can’t close my eye to get a rest.”

According to Minister Edghill, Duke, the injured staffer, was communicating with the vessel for some time prior to the collision, and had continuously indicated to the pilot that it was approaching the bridge at a wrong angle. Minister Edghill did not say if the vessel’s crew had been responding to Duke, but affirmed that those matters will be recorded during the BoI.

Asked about the state of the pilot of the vessel, Edghill confirmed that the man, who is Guyanese, was handed over to the police for alcohol and drug testing. However, the results of those tests came back negative. The pilot has since been handed back to MARAD, and is being monitored.

It is unsure how many other persons were on the vessel at the time. But, according Thomas, the pilot might never be able to pilot a vessel in Guyana again.
“The pilot has been instantly suspended from piloting any further vessels. That move will most likely be permanent,” Thomas said.

According to the MARAD official, the pilot was one with decades of experience, further throwing mystery on what went wrong with the vessel that led it to crash into the floating bridge.
The ship has since been allowed to offload its fuel cargo, but will remained docked on the southern side of the DHB, and will not be allowed to cross through the bridge until further notice.

“We made a decision that even though the ship damaged the bridge, it brought fuel, and we don’t want a second crisis. So, while we’re dealing with all of this, we have given permission for it to discharge the cargo to GuyOil, because we know how important fuel is to the country, and we’re dealing with the ship separately,” Minister Edghill said.