Latest update April 17th, 2025 8:13 AM
Million$$$ in losses…Truck rolls off Bartica ferry, sinks in E’bo River
A goods truck belonging to a Bartica businessman rolled off a ferry into the Essequibo River yesterday and authorities have since launched an investigation.
Maritime workers, in the small speedboats at the location of the sunken truck in the Essequibo River, yesterday.
The Bartica businessman is now counting his losses of up to $20M. No one was reportedly injured.
Maritime officials yesterday rushed to secure the area with river safety markers. It is likely that moves will be made either today or tomorrow to remove the truck from the river. The area where the vehicle sank is a busy one for river traffic. Workers were busy preparing to place a coloured oil drum in the vicinity of the site to warn boaters.
According to officials at the Parika stelling, the incident happened around 09:00 hrs yesterday, a few minutes after the MV Makouria left the Parika stelling, East Bank Essequibo.
Kaieteur News was told that the vessel pulled off from the stelling and made the normal u-turn toward Bartica, a community located some 40 miles up the Essequibo River. Some persons said the vessel’s turn may have been too rash.
The truck loaded with food items reportedly rolled and broke through chains that secured the opening that vehicles would use to enter and leave. No one was in the vehicle at the time.
The location it sank is about 400 feet from the stelling.
The MV Makouria later continued its way to Bartica.
Transport Minister, Robeson Benn, said that he had received the report that a truck had gone overboard and that a probe has been launched to ascertain the circumstances. Kaieteur News learnt that the Canter belonged to a Bartica businessman whose name was give as “Dino’ and who runs Dino’s Enterprise.
Workers of Parika stelling preparing a floating drum to warn river users at Essequibo River.
This newspaper was told that the Bartica businessman would send the Canter four times weekly to the city for supplies.
A regular at the stelling said that some Bartica businesses would have persons in the city fill their trucks with supplies. It would be taken to the ferries and left there in care of persons. It would be picked up at Bartica. It is believed that this was the case of the Canter. It is alleged that workers on the vessel moved the truck to another section to balance.
There were also questions yesterday why a metal gantry, which is used as a door to secure the vessel, had been removed and why a chain was instead in its place. It was this chain that the enclosed Canter broke.
There were unconfirmed reports that the truck was hanging for a while over the edge of the ferry and that the captain attempted to turn the vessel in a direction that would have allowed the vehicle to roll back on board. However, this was to no avail.
Yesterday, a senior official at the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) explained that the MV Makouria was in the Berbice River route using the gantry but this was removed. The Ministry of Transport will now be looking for an alternative to the chains.
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