Tugs sink over past week as contractors struggle to rebuild Mahaicony sea defence

Oct 13, 2019 News

According to the information received, over the past week three tugs sank while trying to manoeuvre a barge of granite boulders close to the shoreline, so that the breaches at the Mahaicony district sea defence could be sealed.

The excavator afloat on the pontoon.

The dam that was built to hold back the water.

The barge of granite boulders out at sea along with two tugs.

The most recent sinking occurred about four days ago. The tug is yet to be removed as the water is very rough and it is inaccessible from land.
A tractor has been continuously pumping water from the trenches running alongside the rice fields to the Bellamy Canal. The tractor has been there a few days now and has been running day and night to facilitate the drainage.

The current situation on the seashore, with the sunken tug in the background.

On shore, there are currently three excavators and in the Canal, there is another one afloat on a pontoon. Two of the excavators on land act as an anchor for the pontoon since the strong current of the water keeps pulling the pontoon towards the bridge.
The earthen sea defence seemed narrower than last week when this publication visited, as it appeared that due to the constant erosion by the rough waves a few inches may have been lost.
During interviews with a few of the workers, they expressed their concerns for the tugs and their crews as well as the pace at which the works were progressing.
“With how that water rough out there, I think that them tugs too small to handle all that lashing,” one worker exclaimed.
They informed that this is not the first time that the water has been this high. However it may have done a bit more damage than in recent times. In relation the numerous breakages being fixed that currently poses a challenge.
It is difficult to steady the barge so that the rocks can be offloaded and the water levels in both the canal and at sea are not receding far enough to allow any significant amount of works to be done.
“We could do the work, but it will take a little time.” It was also noted that at the pace boulders were being delivered and the difficulty getting them to shore, if the waters do not recede to a certain distance, it may be until next year that works can be completed.
A dam was created along the entire length of the rice fields leading to the public road, hence villages around the Danzight area are not covered by flood waters since the dam prevents overflow.
However, the villages in the direction of Columbia say they are still experiencing flood waters due to the continuous overtopping of the Bellamy Canal and the backup of waters inside the confines of the dam as well.