1 injured, “significant damage” as fuel vessel slams into Demerara Harbour Bridge

Oct 09, 2022 News

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– engineers working to repair “inoperable” structure by tomorrow

– 24-hour speed boat service

– barge being considered to ferry supply vehicles

By Shervin Belgrave

Kaieteur News – One month after a barge crashed into the Demerara Harbour Bridge (DHB) and damaged one of its retractor spans, another vessel, an oil tanker, on Saturday did the same. This time, officials said that the damage caused is the worse ever seen by the bridge engineers and will render it inoperable, likely for the next few days.

The Panamanian flagged vessel, MV Tradewinds Passion, reportedly crashed into the bridge close to 02:00hrs Saturday during a retraction for the passage of five vessels. It was reportedly filled with fuel for the Guyana Oil Company Limited (GUYOIL) and was the last vessel to pass through from north to south when the collision occurred.

Not only has the impact severely damaged the bridge but it has left one of the DHB staffers hospitalised with a fractured leg and others are left traumatized after barely escaping unhurt.

Speaking at a Saturday afternoon press conference, Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill identified the injured staffer as Andy Duke and related that he was a shift supervisor directing the retraction from his tower on the bridge while his colleagues were underneath conducting routine maintenance.

Edghill related that Duke observed that the vessel was not in alignment with the channel to pass through properly and therefore made attempts to avoid the disaster by contacting its pilot via radio. He reportedly called on them to stop and turn around the oil tanker but it kept coming, and at the last moment, Duke decided to jump for safety but ended up injuring his leg.

“…he jumped from his tower to get to safety and injured his leg, he is hospitalised,” Edghill told media operatives.

Up to press time, Duke was still hospitalised and doctors reportedly notified his superiors that he will have to undergo surgery because his leg is severely fractured.

As it relates to the bridge, Edghill said that the oil tanker damaged four retractor spans and ripped out some cluster piles from their position and dropped them across the channel.  A pontoon was also badly damaged to the point of taking in water. Some new end posts will be needed, along with several parts, for the retractor to work again.

The minister said that his government is working along with the private sector to get the bridge up and running as soon as possible since thousands of people have been inconvenienced. Added to this, he said that a major disruption of trade and commerce between Regions 2, 3, 4 and 7 can cause a shortage of basic supplies such as food, fuel, etc.

Engineers, he said, are working a 24-hour shift system to get the bridge operable hopefully by tomorrow night. But Edghill noted that the repairs could take much longer.

“We are working hard to get this done by Monday night but then again that is being optimistic and we don’t wanna deceive the people, it may be 72 hours or 96 hours,” Edghill said.

So far, related Edghill, “We have members of the private sectors that are manufacturing components (parts for the bridge)…We expect that by tomorrow (today) some of these components will be in place. We expect that some of the end posts and a new pontoon (to replace the damaged one) will be here by 10am tomorrow.”

As the emergency repairs are being conducted, the Public Works Ministry is working along with the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) to put temporary measures in place to ensure that citizens can still travel across the river.

“…We have, since about 04:30 this morning (yesterday), initiated the water taxis to operate on a 24 hours basis from Stabroek (Georgetown) to Vreed-en-Hoop (Region Three),” Edghill said.

Apart from the Stabroek and Vreed-en-Hoop stellings, the MARAD boathouse at the Vreed-en-Hoop end will also be used as a boarding point for passengers using the water taxis.

From today, arrangements will also be put in place for persons who live at La Grange, La Parfaite Harmonie and other areas on the West Bank of Demerara (WBD) to board passenger vessels from the DHB’s end.  The authorities are considering arrangements for persons living at Wales to board boats from an Upper East Bank Demerara (EBD) location, perhaps at Diamond or Grove.

As he assured that the boat taxi fare will remain at $100, Edghill noted that MARAD and the Public Works Ministry are also examining port landings for barges to dock with vehicles transporting supplies to the west side.

For citizens who might have been left stranded with their vehicles, Edghill said that parking will be made available for them at the Providence National Stadium. He assured that it will be safe for persons to leave their vehicles there and catch a boat home since the Guyana Police Force (GPF) will provide 24-hour protection for the vehicles.

Meanwhile, Edghill said that a Board of Inquiry has been set up to investigate the accident. That process is expected to begin today.

So far, the captain of the vessel at the time has been identified as a local river pilot who was contracted via an agency to bring the vessel through the Demerara River. Local river pilots are normally hired to bring in vessels from the ocean to Georgetown ports because they are more acquainted with the local river.

 

The pilot in question reportedly has years of experience under his belt. Following the accident, he was taken into custody and handed over to police. Police, this publication was informed, tested his blood alcohol level but the results returned negative.

He was released but is currently being monitored. According to authorities at MARAD, he has been suspended from monitoring any

vessel and will likely be banned permanently.

 

 

Edghill disclosed that the vessel has been permitted to offload its fuel at the GUYOIL terminal at Providence, East Bank Demerara (EBD) but will not be allowed to leave Georgetown until the investigation is completed.

Edghill said that while the government does not know yet the cost for the repairs, the bill will be handed to the owner of the Panamanian oil tanker.

In order, to avoid a future accident, Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar, who also spoke at the press conference, said that the system of vessels moving through the Demerara River will have to change.

One of those changes, he noted, will be to bar private river pilots from bringing in vessels and only allow the ones working with MARAD to do so.

Currently, MARAD has 15 river pilots within its employ while there are five private pilots, including the one who crashed the vessel into the bridge.

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