Works Minister says stronger regulatory framework for fishing industry

Public Works Minister, Bishop Juan Edghill said that the regulatory framework governing the
fishing industry and the use of Guyana’s waterways will have to be examined to ensure safety
remains a priority.
Edghill noted that going forward there can be no guessing or business as usual as it relates to that
matter. He made the announcement on Thursday after receiving the report of the Board of
Inquiry into the marine incident that left three fishermen missing. The report was received from
Chairman of the Board, Captain John Flores. The Minister noted that strong minimal standards
will be established to ensure safety and the capacity to respond to such incidents are clearly
defined.
“Some of the things that were established was that a call was received at Noble House early the
morning indicating that the boat was taking in water. The Maritime Administration, whether it is
contacting officers or the Light House, they were not notified until several hours after,” Edghill
said. He disclosed that the failure, resulted in a significant delay in the rescue response
mechanism of the state. The minister said the captain of the vessel was not issued a licence by
the Maritime Administration (MARAD). In fact, there is no record that he was licenced to
operate the vessel. The findings, he stressed, will see the examination of the licencing system at
MARAD.
“I was advised by the Board of Inquiry when they briefed me that neither the captain nor the
crew had any certification or training in terms of safety and responding to emergencies and
things of that nature… and if there was not a requirement for training, then we have to start
looking at safeguarding the welfare and the lives of people before we put them out there in
dangerous waters,” Edghill explained. Edghill noted that he understands the vessel went into dry
dock, but was not inspected or recorded by MARAD. He said it means there is no evidence that a
certified marine surveyor, surveyed the boat and indicated that it was sea worthy.

“So, a boat that has disappeared and gone down, we do not know because there is no record to
show if this boat was adequately inspected by a competent marine surveyor, deficiencies were
found or not found, corrective action was taken or corrective action was not taken but the
company would have indicated that it went into dry dock. And the company has shown no
evidence to the Board of Inquiry that they have in their employ someone of the competence as a
marine surveyor to certify the quality of a vessel in and out of dry dock to ensure that all the
corrective measures were done,” he related. The public works minister said that there are about
1800 registered vessels and 87 trawlers that use the waterways, which indicate that thousands of
people are on the waterways on a daily basis. With that, he stressed that the matter is not a small
one and that things that were taken for granted will be looked into.
Edghill said he has made it clear that no vessel or individual using the vessels must go into
Guyana’s waters if they are not properly licenced. Additionally, members of the board were able
to review MARAD’s systems and have made a number of findings and recommendations.
Minister Edghill said he will take the next two days to review the report in detail after which it
will be released to the families of the missing fishermen, Noble House and the media. The search

for the three fishermen who went missing after the Noble House Seafoods trawler sank on
February 19 near the Mahaica River, has since been suspended. Missing are Captain Harold
Damon, Winston Sam and Ronald Burton. Vincent Dazzell is the lone survivor.