Deadly Essequibo River collision… Captains to be charged

Sep 27, 2019 News

The boat captains involved in Monday’s deadly Essequibo River collision are likely to face charges in relation to the accident. This is according to police and maritime sources close to the investigations.

Dead: Sherry Khan

The damaged passenger vessel

The collision has left three persons dead and five others nursing injuries.
Suriname–based Guyanese businesswoman Sherry Khan, a mother of four, Jose Francisco Joaquin, a male Brazilian, and Osafo Anthony Roberts, 25, an auto electrician of Philadelphia, East Bank Essequibo, were the fatalities in the river accident.
According to reports, two boats collided at Chalmers’ crossing located at the western tip of Hog Island, in the Essequibo River.
The passengers were aboard an M&Y Express vessel headed in the direction of Buck Hall when it collided with a Venezuela-registered fibreglass boat which was proceeding in the opposite direction.
Reports indicate the Venezuelan vessel was under repairs and on a test run when it smashed into the passenger vessel. Police and maritime sources later confirmed that the captains of both vessels were navigating the dark waters without the use of proper lights.
The boat captains were identified as Devindra Singh called Crank, 43, of Greenwich Park, East Bank Essequibo (EBE) and Latchman Sankar.
Kaieteur News understands that the men will be cited for a number of maritime breaches.
Maritime and police officials have since confirmed too that Sankar, the captain of the Venezuela-registered vessel was unlicensed at the time of the incident. On the other hand, Singh, who operated the M&Y passenger vessel, was licensed, but was operating outside of the prescribed time frame, which is from sunrise to sunset.
Additionally, both men have admitted to operating the vessels without proper lights; they were using the lights from their cellphones to navigate the dark river when their boats collided.
Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) officials noted that while the criminal investigations are not quite complete, the captains can be cited for breaches under the maritime laws.
According to the officials, the boat operators can be cited for reckless driving or reckless endangerment of the life of a passenger/passengers, for which the penalties range from monetary fines to suspension of licences.
The officials were keen to note that the maritime law does not cater for criminal acts and the penalties that follow.
“There are no provisions for that under the maritime laws. Maybe that is something we need to seriously ramp up legal capacity for,” the officer stated.
However, in the instance of criminality, this newspaper was informed that there are provisions under which the police can approach of the Director of Public Prosecutions for advice to charge.
Alluding to an instance where a boat captain was charged for manslaughter after six passengers died after his vessel collided with their boat, a MARAD officer told Kaieteur News that the Criminal Law Offences Act Chapter 8:01 contains a provision that caters for criminal acts committed within the admiralty jurisdiction or navigable waters.
The Act notes that all indictable offences mentioned in the Criminal Law Offences Act committed in admiralty jurisdiction shall be deemed to be the offence of the same nature and liable to the same punishment.
“It is under this provision that the boat captains can be liable for not only breach of safety, but the lives of their passengers,” the marine officer added.

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