Laden BK stone barge sinks in mouth of Demerara

The Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) has launched an investigation following the sinking of a BK Marine barge loaded with 2,000 tons of stone at the mouth of the Deme-rara River on Monday night.

The sinking is suspected to have resulted in part from rough sea conditions. The tug pulling the barge suffered engine difficulties and vessels sent to assist aborted that mission due to safety concerns.

The area of the sinking has since been demarcated and efforts to retrieve the barge will commence today.

The five-member crew on the tug are said to be recovering from what their peers described as a traumatic experience.

A release from MARAD stated that at approximately 22:30 on Monday October 27, a loaded barge with the name “DAR B” while being towed by a tug called “KYLE”, sank at the mouth of the Demerara River.

It further mentioned that the barge was on one of its regular voyages from Teperu Quarry in the Essequibo River, towards its discharge berth in Kingston, Georgetown. The MARAD release added that DAR B is owned by BK Marine and was reported to have had 2,000 tons of aggregate (stone) on board the vessel.

Additionally, the MARAD release stated that one of the crew members outfitted with a life jacket fell overboard. He was quickly rescued.

Prior to officials from MARAD’s arrival to secure the area, an outbound ship came into contact with the stone on the sunken barge. It remained stuck in that position for about an hour, but refloated as the tide began coming in.

Navigation in the area was temporarily suspended as officers from MARAD sought to locate and mark the exact position of the wreck. MARAD said that navigation has resumed with vessel traffic control measures being put in place. This will be enhanced as more buoys are placed to aid mariners to safely navigate in the area.

Marine Maintenance Manager at BK International, Kingston Wharf, George Griffith, told Stabroek News that two vessels were sent out to assist the tug which was experiencing engine difficulties in the vicinity of the Marriott Hotel on the river. However, Griffith said that the vessels had to return to port out of safety concerns, because the sea was extremely rough.

He explained that the tug experienced further engine difficulties and the barge as a result lost one of its manhole covers and sometime after sank.

According to Griffith, following the sinking the company contacted MARAD and the light house. “We’ve been working closely with MARAD in having the area demarcated”, he said, adding “and subsequently went out at low tide and inspected the area to ensure that all vessels were passing safely.”

 

He added that a team of divers did an inspection at 11:00hrs and 18:00hrs respectively. Further-more, he mentioned that efforts to salvage the sunken barge will commence today.