A boat captain from the Lower Pomeroon River has recounted braving rough seas with his 15-year-old daughter to assist in the search for victims of the MV Barima tragedy, while a Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard officer has detailed the hazardous conditions confronting divers at the wreck site.
In an interview with the Department of Public Information (DPI), Rondolph Aman said he received a telephone call from another boat captain at approximately 3 am informing him that boats were needed to assist following the sinking of the ferry.
“It was tough, it was difficult, but I had to make it because I needed to save lives,” Aman said.
He explained that he and his daughter ventured into the open sea despite the large swells. As an experienced fisherman and boat captain, however, he was familiar with the conditions.
“We went way out on the sea with the big swells, but I know the sea good, so it wasn’t a problem for me,” he said.
Aman said his daughter volunteered to accompany him and remained resolute about joining the operation.
“Me and my daughter went out there, the two of us. She is 15 and she said, ‘Daddy, we going out there’,” he recalled.
Their search did not result in the discovery of survivors. Instead, Aman said they located approximately five bodies in different areas and remained at each location until the Coast Guard arrived.
“When we found them, we called the base, the Coast Guard. They came and collected [the bodies] and we cooperated with the situation,” he said.
The fisherman praised the Coast Guard for its support, saying he was supplied with fuel and food and maintained good communication with its ranks.
“They were so nice to me. They gave me gasoline and they gave me food… We worked in unity, we worked in love,” he added.
Local fisherfolk have played an important role in the search and recovery operation since the MV Barima capsized on the night of July 18 while travelling from Georgetown to Port Kaituma.
Strong tidal currents
Meanwhile, Lieutenant Neville Tyler Faraz, commanding officer of the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard vessel TTS Speyside (CG 25), said his team arrived in the operational area at approximately 3 am last Tuesday.
Faraz said a seven-member dive team aboard the vessel had been assisting with underwater recovery operations at the wreck site. The TTS Speyside and its two smaller “daughter craft” have also conducted repeated patrols close to shore and along Guyana’s northwestern coastline in search of victims.
He identified extremely poor underwater visibility and strong tidal currents near the river mouth as the major obstacles facing divers.
“Visibility is one of the greatest constraints right now,” Faraz said. “A lot of the divers are unable to see their hands in front of their faces—anything more than a foot.”
He explained that the muddiness of the seabed, together with movement during the recovery operation, further reduced visibility around the wreckage.
“The more the seabed is agitated during the recovery efforts and the movement of the vessel, the poorer visibility becomes,” he said.
The strong tidal currents have also forced divers to suspend operations at intervals. Faraz cautioned that persons observing the operation from a distance might mistakenly conclude that work had stopped without understanding the dangers confronting the teams below the surface.
He said the pauses were necessary to prevent further loss of life among those attempting to recover victims and provide closure to grieving families.
Shallow waters have also posed difficulties for the larger vessel during visual searches closer to the coastline. Faraz said the two smaller craft were therefore being used to conduct searches as close to shore as safely possible.
The multinational operation has included personnel and equipment from Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, France and Brazil. Days after the sinking, families continued to gather at Charity and the Suddie Hospital awaiting the recovery and identification of relatives.
Bodies recovered from the sea have been taken to the Charity Waterfront before being transported to the Suddie Hospital, where refrigerated containers were installed to accommodate the remains.
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