-‘lightly rubbed’ other vessel
The Transport and Harbours Department (T&HD) on Saturday said that the MV Kimbia departed Port Georgetown on Friday with the full use of all of its engines.
It made the disclosure following a news item which appeared in this newspaper on Saturday which stated that the Kimbia departed Georgetown for the North West on Friday four hours later than its schedule departure and it wasn’t clear if both of its engines were working.
According to a release from the T&HD, the MV Kimbia was on its second voyage to the North West District on Friday since it experienced a delayed arrival from Kumaka in the Mabaruma Sub -Region on August 7. T&HD said that the delay on Friday resulted from a breakdown of loading equipment. The department stated that the life-saving capacity of the MV Kimbia is 370 persons by use of life boats, inflatable rafts and Jim-bouys, exclusive of life vests and life rafts. The department went on to state that the shared accommodation for passengers utilizing seats and hammocks is 350 persons, noting that the ferry departed with 365 passengers on board – 15 above what it said the shared accommodation capacity was.
The T&HD also said that the vessel “did not ram” another vessel, the MV Kaituma as reported in the article, but “lightly rubbed” the vessel while manoeuvring during departure. According to the statement, the standard practice for the loading of the vessel is to have women, children and the elderly embark the vessel first, noting that this was adhered to on Friday last.
The management of the department stated in the release that media houses and other interested parties should request permission from the unit to enter its facilities and vessels for media and public relations activities. Nevertheless, circumstances permitting, the management of the department stated that it would be happy to answer and to accompany the media on visits to its facilities.
The T&HD said that the unit remains committed to improving its service and maintaining basic standards for passengers’ comfort and safety on all of its vessels and urged that persons, who are interested in providing accurate information on its operations and its services, make contact with the management of the department.
However, attempts by Stabroek News over the past several months to obtain a comment from the T&HD on the status of the MV Kimbia as well as the MV Malali, which plies the Parika/Supenaam route, had proved futile even though staff members of the unit took messages, including telephone numbers for calls to be returned. Transport Minister, Robeson Benn, following the August 7 delayed arrival of the MV Kimbia, had promised that a statement on the status of the ferry would have been dispatched to the media; Stabroek News never received that statement, even though a report on it had appeared in the Guyana Times. When the T&HD administrative office was contacted for the statement, this newspaper was informed that the matter was being dealt with by the subject minister’s office. Persons there, when contacted, directed the calls to the T&HD administration.
This newspaper observed first-hand the conditions experienced by passengers who travelled with the ferry on Friday. Persons scrambled for their belongings when the door leading from the waiting area to the vessel was opened. Persons who utilize the services of the ferry had been calling on the administration to replace the aged vessel, some noting that it has outlived its usefulness, while a former village captain from the North West, who travelled on the MV Kimbia on Friday, related that the administration, while campaigning in the 1992 general elections, had promised North West residents a new vessel.
