-following engine failure on north west run
Following last week’s incident in which one engine of the North West ferry, MV Kimbia, became inoperable during the return trip to Port Georgetown, calls are being made again for the vessel to be replaced.

When contacted yesterday for a comment on the issue, Transport Minister Robeson Benn told this newspaper that a press release would be disseminated to media houses shortly as regards the status of the MV Kimbia. Benn said that he was dissatisfied with an article published by this newspaper last weekend which gave an account by a passenger who travelled from the North West on the vessel last weekend.

The vessel departed Kumaka around 6:30 am last week Thursday for Georgetown with 360 persons on board and about 5:30 that afternoon, one of the vessel’s engines broke down, leaving it to limp along on one engine. The vessel eventually arrived in Georgetown on Saturday morning at around 3:30 am, with one passenger describing the extra day on the ferry as a nightmare.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, one businesswoman who operates her business in the Mabaruma sub-region and who depends on the MV Kimbia  to transport goods to the area for her place of business, told this newspaper yesterday  that most persons in the area depend heavily on the services of the ferry since the cost for transportation by air outweighs that of the ferry and she noted that during holiday seasons, such as the present August holidays, persons from the area, most of them children, would travel to and from the city using the ferry. She said the experiences passengers on the ferry encountered on the recent trip to Georgetown were “quite alarming” since only last September the authorities expended millions of dollars on repairs to the vessel. The woman said that the vessel has been serving the region for years and posited that it has outlived its usefulness. She said many persons in the region are calling on the relevant authorities to make available a more dependable, and most importantly, a safer vessel to serve North West residents.

Yolanda Carter, who was on board the Kimbia, told Stabroek News on Sunday that the vessel was “drifting along in the ocean” and moved with the tide during the trip. She said that the authorities should look into conditions on board the vessel as it relates to passengers. While declaring that conditions on board the vessel were unhealthy, Carter said that the authorities should have at least made an effort to send another vessel out to assist even if it was just to take food and water.

Stabroek News was told that the Ministry of Public Works was informed of the problem  and had planned to hire a vessel to tug the MV Kimbia but balked at the price. Police sources had informed this newspaper that the vessel had suffered engine failure just opposite the mouth of the Pomeroon River.

At the Ministry of Public Works and Communication Engineering conference held in March this year, Operations Manager of the Transport and Harbours Department (T&HD), Marcelene Merchant had stated in a presentation, that when the MV Kimbia was in the Vieira dry–docking facility at Houston  undergoing repairs recently, capital expenditure worth $35M was budgeted for repairs to be carried out on the vessel and a $53M contract was eventually signed for work to be undertaken. However, while in the docking facility other problems were discovered and another $30M was expended during the maintenance period. Minister Benn had stated then that the demands were related to the age of the vessel. He said that maps and other planning material for previous dry-docking periods for the vessel had not been maintained over the years as a result of the absence of a unit to monitor that aspect of maintenance.

Among the challenges, Merchant stated that the authorities needed to address were, a human resource shortage which she said at the time, was affecting the department, upgrading of equipment used in the Central Workshop of the T&HD as well as the need for a more feasible maintenance policy for the department. Another T&HD official, Yurlander Hughes, had also stated at the conference that a new and faster vessel was needed for the North West route since the MV Kimbia was slow and utilizes a lot of time on each trip.

The People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), several months ago had voiced its concern about the safety of passengers who utilize the services of the MV Kimbia as well as the MV Malali which plies the Parika/Adventure route. The party stated in May this year that the two vessels had been operating under ‘handicapped’ conditions, noting that the MV Kimbia had been operating with one rudder when it is required by the builder’s specification, to operate with two rudders. The party had called on the Minister of Transport to take the necessary steps to ensure that the vessels in question operate in accordance with passenger safety and other legal requirements.

The MV Kimbia is a passenger and cargo vessel which is said to be one of the oldest vessels in the maritime public transport system with more than 70 years serving the T&HD. It is reported to have been on the waters locally since the 1940s, according to Chapter 38: Transport Development of the National Development Strategy (NDS) of 1996. The vessel, which is capable of ferrying a total of 200 passengers, has been plying the North West route for almost two decades now on a fortnightly basis. It is seen as an important form of transportation by residents in the North West District since it transports a variety of perishable and non-perishable goods. Another vessel, the MV Barima also travels to the North West on a fortnightly basis, operating between Port Georgetown and Port Kaituma; both vessels make stops at Morawhanna during their respective trips. (Alva Solomon)