Senior Reporter
Opposition Leader Pennelope Beckles has called for a thorough investigation into Sunday’s fatal boating collision off Chaguaramas, describing the incident as a tragedy of a magnitude no family should have to endure.
Speaking to reporters outside Parliament yesterday, Beckles said the loss of life had been particularly painful for the affected families, recalling that she visited the home of one of the missing men, alongside Diego Martin West MP Hans Des Vignes, earlier in the day.
She said relatives received a telephone call informing them that a body had been recovered while she was at the home. Beckles and Des Vignes accompanied them to the Carenage Police Station.
“It was painful to see them go to that body, you know. And, you know, the police basically saying, well, you know… you can’t see the, you know, there’s no face because, you know… so it’s painful,” she said.
Beckles said the experience underscored the need for stronger measures to prevent similar incidents.
“The most important thing for me is, I mean, having myself witnessed the pain and the distress of the father and the mother and a couple others, it’s really painful, you know, that your child or your brother or your husband leaves to go on a lime and something like that could happen. I want to, you know, advocate for a very thorough investigation and, of course, on behalf of the PNM, to express condolences.”
She also called for appropriate legislation governing the operation of marine vessels, including measures to ensure passenger safety.
Beckles, meanwhile, dismissed concerns about People’s National Movement Senator Faris Al-Rawi representing one of the families connected to the speedboat that was involved in the crash.
“Senator Al-Rawi is an attorney. He has his responsibility as an attorney. Our main concern is a proper investigation because this is a serious matter. In a small country like ours, you know, just over a million people and you have six persons dying in a boating accident. That is a tragedy of the proportion that none of us would want.”
Meanwhile, Works and Infrastructure Minister Jearlean John said the Government was open to further measures to strengthen marine safety, including additional regulations where necessary. However, she stressed that legislation alone would not prevent tragedies.
“There’s also something called personal responsibility, eh. You can have all the laws, all the regulations; we have to take ourselves seriously and our role seriously as partners,” John said.
Nevertheless, she is pleased with the response from state agencies.
“As it is right now, I am satisfied with the Institute of Marine Affairs in terms of their coverage, particularly of the party boats, where, you know, that could be an issue in waiting, but they have 100% (check on party boats). We have a lot of advisories going out and so on,” John said.
She also pointed to additional equipment sought by Defence Minister Wayne Sturge during Thursday’s Cabinet meeting to support search-and-rescue and recovery operations.
However, when asked to make that disclosure in Parliament yesterday, Sturge declined to reveal which assets were deployed during Sunday’s collision, saying it would be unwise to reveal those details amid the ongoing police investigation. He also provided no details on additional patrol assets or enforcement mechanisms being deployed in Chaguaramas and other coastal waters to prevent similar incidents.
Sturge, however, pledged that the Government would make a comprehensive statement on the matter at the appropriate time.
