Leaked documents show sunken Guyana ferry ran with serious defects
Crew had repeatedly reported failures in generators, engines and pumps on the 87-year-old vessel that sank in July killing about 100 people, contradicting the works minister.
GEORGETOWN, Guyana. An ageing Guyana government ferry that sank last month, killing about 100 passengers, was operating with a series of serious mechanical and electrical defects that were not fixed despite complaints from captains and crew, according to leaked documents.
Papers from inside the transport and harbours department show that generators, engines, electrical systems and water pumps had failed at various times and were either not replaced in time or not replaced at all.
Minister contradicted
The documents appear to contradict Works Minister Juan Edghill, who had said “there was no report of any kind that suggested the vessel was unseaworthy” and that “it was in line for dry docking in keeping with the schedule”.
The vessel sank about seven hours after leaving the capital on 18 July. Nearly 80 passengers were rescued.
The 87-year-old ferry served the Georgetown to Port Kaituma route in the north-west near Venezuela, one of the toughest routes, with much of the journey in the choppy Atlantic before entering the Kaituma River. The trip, carrying cargo, vehicles, heavy equipment and dozens of passengers, usually takes up to 20 hours.
Captain charged
Local media have recalled comments by Captain Kevin Price at an initial court appearance last month. “Everybody knows it is an old vessel the government gave me to work,” he said. “The vessel does not have a radar.”
He and two other surviving crew members face multiple murder charges.
History of faults
Last November the entire lighting system broke down while the vessel was in Kaituma, with inspections showing burned wires. In February, crews reported about 20 major defects in writing, which were stamped as received by transport department officials.
Surviving passengers have said the vessel had been taking in water and that their reports were dismissed as “normal”. They also said it stopped shortly after sailing while engineers struggled to restart a faulty engine.
A commission of inquiry is preparing to begin public hearings into what happened on 18 July.
