The captain of the MV Sabanto, which ran aground in November last year, has been fired and his helmsman was suspended from duty for a month, according to the Transport and Harbours Department (T&HD).
On November 17, 2014, the ferry was on its usual route from Parika to Supenaam, Essequibo when its captain lost control of the boat, causing it to run aground at Wakenaam Island.
According to a 2014 T&HD review statement, restricted visibility caused the captain and the look outs to lose direction and position.
The captain, the statement said, failed to drop anchor and wait for the weather to improve and the vessel continued to travel at unsafe speed. Relative to the condition of restricted visibility, the captain gave the helmsman orders which resulted in the ferry running aground onto the south-western side of Wakenaam.
The statement added that the captain has since been dismissed from the department’s service and his helmsman and all the lookouts were suspended from duty, without pay, for one month.
The MV Sabanto is scheduled to be dry-docked this year. Critical areas to be addressed include the hull, servicing of doors, and under water fittings to be checked and serviced, the statement noted. This will cost $25 million and the vessel will docked at EC Vieira Dockyard.
Last month, the MV Sabanto ran aground for a second time, stranding passengers in the vicinity of Hog Island, Essequibo. The ferry was headed to Supenaam.
