Moving a dredge in the river should be supervised by the maritime administration

Dear Editor,

It is so sad to know that tragedy struck Guyanese and foreigners visiting Bartica on Monday, August 1. Delta Guided River Tours had about 24 tourists who wanted to see the beautiful Marshall Falls and rapids, but because of careless miners pushing a ‘dragga’ (dredge) across the  rapids with a wire rope which was lying in the water, the Delta tourist boat propeller became tangled up and the engine stalled. The boat then turned crossways and sank, and one person drowned. My sympathy to the wife and relatives of the deceased, Hemchand Manram of Canal No 1.

The captain of the Delta, Captain Balkarran is a well-known person and very experienced. As a captain and a tour guide for many years he has lost his boat and two 2 hundred Yamaha engines. Bartica has a commodore, Mr David Mittelholzer, so in the future whenever a ‘dragga’ is moving up or down river the commodore should be informed and he should be there to supervise. The maritime administration should please take note, otherwise there will be more incidents like this. Mr Mittelholzer needs an office on the Bartica ferry stelling and a fast boat engine to be efficient and to save lives.

Secondly, passenger boats in the Essequibo River need rigorous inspection. Some of them have been painted and look clean, but their bottoms are weak. As for leaks, they have two bilge pumps. I call these boats ‘corkball’ boats. I also recommend that the number of persons allowed to sit in a seat should be marked – eg, only 4 persons in this seat, etc.

All passenger boats should have insurance for passengers, and a passenger speedboat travellers’ association should be established for the Bartica – Supenaam route. Lastly, speedboat baggage handlers should have on a red cap so they can be easily identified, and should be appointed by the boat association.

Yours faithfully,
Winston B Miller Snr