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Fisheries Department says vessel was unregistered

Jul 27, 2010 News

… Trawler mishap in Suriname

Relatives of the seaman who perished in a trawler explosion on Sunday are dissatisfied with the answers they have received about the circumstances surrounding his death while on board the MV Captain Tom.
A close relative of 39-year-old Ravi Sankar Ragoonaugh has travelled to Suriname to glean further answers from two survivors and from the authorities there.
A sister of the missing man said that she also hoped that her brother’s body can be retrieved. “If my brother dead, I want his body.”
Kaieteur News also contacted vessel owner Mr. Sasesankar, who informed this newspaper that he had also travelled to Suriname.
According to Sasesankar, the crew member who sustained some burns in still hospitalised.
Ragoonaugh, of De Willem, West Coast Demerara, is believed to have died in an explosion aboard the MV Captain Tan, which was in Suriname waters at the time.
Three other crewmembers reportedly escaped the inferno by jumping overboard.
They were reportedly rescued by two Suriname vessels.
Mr. Sasesankar, the owner of the vessel, said that he was informed that a generator caught fire. However, other reports suggest that the men were pumping fuel when an explosion occurred.
In a statement issued yesterday, officials from the Ministry of Agriculture said that the Ministry’s Fisheries Department state that the ill-fated trawler did not belong to Guyana’s fishing fleet.
“It must be noted that the vessel is not registered by the Fisheries Department. As such, the vessel was not entitled to engage in any fishing activities within Guyana and is not recognised as a fishing vessel licensed to fish in Guyana’s Exclusive Economic Zone,” the statement said.
The statement said that the investigation into the alleged explosion on board the trawler, Captain Lloyd 97, which is registered to Pritipaul Singh Investments, is still ongoing.
“The Ministry of Public Works and Communication which is tasked with ensuring the seaworthiness of all vessels through its Maritime Administration has launched an investigation to determine the cause of the incident and to make recommendations to minimise the recurrence of such an incident.
Safety inspections are also being conducted on all trawler vessels.”
Ram Ragoonauth, the missing man’s father, told Kaieteur News that he was informed that his son was down in the engine room, and the other three crew members were on the deck when the boat burst into flames.
He was told that two crewmembers immediately jumped overboard.
However, one man, identified as “Bharrat” ran down into the engine room to inform Ragoonauth about the fire.
It is alleged that by the time the man exited the engine room, the vessel was almost engulfed in flames, and the crewman then plunged overboard.
He said he was told that the two other seamen were rescued by Surinamese Coast Guards while the Captain was rescued by a passing fishing vessel.
One of the men reportedly sustained minor burns and is hospitalsied in Suriname.
The other crewmen were identified as Ramlall Ramjattan (the captain), of New Road, Vreed-en-Hoop; Sharief Khan, and Rameshdatt Narine.
Mr. Sasesankar told Kaieteur News that he had recently purchased the MV Captain Tom in the US.
He said that the trawler had undergone some repairs, and the crew was heading to Suriname, since someone wanted to buy the vessel.

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