Board of Inquiry completes report on Harbour Bridge collision

See below full statement issued by the Ministry of Public Works:

Today, Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill, received the official report of the Board of Inquiry (BOI), regarding the October 8, 2022, allision of the vessel, Tradewind Passion, into the Demerara Harbour Bridge.

Captain Joseph Lewis – a Marine Officer and Surveyor of Ships, led the team and officially delivered the report, assuring the Minister that every check was made. Additionally, he indicated that interviews were conducted to gather information to compile the report.

“Being a marine surveyor that deals with international ship, I have very high standards and with this report here I am very impressed, it has met my standard and we hope it will also meet your standard, Minister,” Captain Lewis said.

The report was handed over in the presence of the other BOI members: Thandi McAllister – Director of Legal Affairs at MARAD, Yolanda Hughes – Member of the Board and a Staff of Transport and Harbours Department, Inspector Carlos Ross of the Marine Division of the Guyana Police Force, Lt. Col. David Shamsudeen – Coast Guard, Patrick Thompson – Chief Transport & Planning Officer MOPW and Dimitri Ali, Member of the Board of Directors of the Guyana National Shipping Corporation.

The team’s gratitude of being entrusted with such a mandate by the Minister, was also expressed by Captain Lewis.

The allision, which occurred in the wee hours of Saturday, October 8th had rendered the bridge inoperable for more than 40 hours, and has cost the Government over $ 1 billion (and increasing), to get the bridge back to an operable state, Minister Edghill told the media on Thursday. The allision also resulted in DHBC Shift Supervisor, Andy Duke, who was on duty at the time on the bridge with a broken left leg.

The BOI was given a seven-day timeline to submit their report. They officially started their investigation on Monday last.