No charges will be instituted against the crew members and owners of the vessel that crashed into the Demerara Harbour Bridge (DHB) almost two weeks ago, Director of Safety at the Maritime Administration, John Flores said.
Flores yesterday told Stabroek News that the Shipping Act does not provide for criminal charges despite the fact that the vessel, owned by Impex Corp Limited, was involved in an accident. He noted that the procedures for land and water accidents are different.
He added that during the investigation, all of the vessel’s certifications were up to date and said if it were not so, the vessel’s owners and crew members would have been charged for breach of operating regulations. All of the vessel’s certifications were found to be compliant with maritime regulations. The Panamanian tug drifted into the bridge which connects the eastern and western banks of the Demerara River, causing damage and resulting in the structure being closed to traffic for more than 30 hours. The accident occurred on September 2. The cost of the repairs is still unclear and this newspaper understands that the figure may be close to $100 million as the damage was extensive.
During the course of last week, the DHB General Manager, Rawlston Adams, told Stabroek News that the company has submitted the cost of repairs to Impex Corporation Limited.
Stabroek News understands that the company plans to tap its insurance to meet the claim.
Two Fridays ago, Flores told Stabroek News that the crew members admitted that the Panamanian-registered tug was not anchored in the correct position. He said that the investigation found that the anchor broke as a result of the strong current in the river and this resulted in the vessel drifting and subsequently crashing into the bridge. If the vessel had been positioned correctly, the mishap could have been avoided.
The crew members made several attempts to stop the vessels from drifting but their efforts were in vain, Flores said.
At around 12:50 am on September 2, the tug and barge crashed into the DHB, resulting in extensive damage. The tug, a Panamanian vessel, drifted from Grove/Diamond on the East Bank Demerara and its crew belatedly issued a distress call.
The resulting damage, caused the bridge company to carry out emergency works to reconnect eight connecting posts, five sheaves, 15 shackles and 215 feet of anchor chains. The chains, were disconnected as a result of the impact when the tug and barge crashed into the bridge.
