Senior Reporter
The families of five people, including a teenage girl, will be hoping that search and rescue teams find their loved ones today, after they went missing at sea following a boating accident off Staubles Bay, Chaguaramas, on Sunday.
This, after search efforts by the T&T Coast Guard, T&T Police Service Coastal Unit, Hunters’ Search and Rescue Team, volunteers and other state agencies combing the area failed to find 17-year-old Kieyanna Seechan, Amir Ali, 18; Anil Ahyee, 38; Titus Augustine, 25 and Lorenzo Oliver, 35.
The victims were thrown into the sea after a collision involving a 28-foot Bowen pleasure craft and a 29-foot Chantelle pleasure craft at 6.30 pm.
A T&T Police Service release last night said the Bowen vessel, captained by a Federation Park resident, 44, was carrying 18 people, while the other vessel was carrying 14. The 29-foot vessel sank after the collision.
The driver of the 29-foot vessel, Matik Ferreira, 35, and another man, 40, remained hospitalised up to last night. Five other passengers from the sunken vessel were also taken the the St James Medical Facility and two were subsequently transferred to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital and discharged.
Ferreira’s brother, Clidell Gorin, recounted what he said he was told about the incident yesterday.
Gorin said he had been at Scotland Bay awaiting his brother’s arrival when he was told of the collision. He later met his injured brother at Staubles Bay, where he heard a first-hand account of what happened.
According to Gorin, his brother said another vessel approached from the inside channel.
“He said the next boat was passing on the inside where they had a little boy driving, and the boat ran over my brother’s boat,” Gorin said.
He claimed the speedboat struck the pirogue near its front section before riding diagonally over it toward the engine. Gorin said the impact caused catastrophic damage.
“A speedboat hull is very solid. With the speed they were travelling, with two 250-horsepower Mercury engines behind the boat, they mash up his boat and cause it to sink,” he said.
He added that his brother told him the speedboat landed on his foot after the collision. Despite his injuries, he climbed aboard the other vessel and shouted for its occupants to shut off the engines because the speedboat was still dragging the damaged pirogue.
Gorin said his brother then tried to rescue passengers from the water, including Kieyanna’s father, Marcus Seechan, who remained in the Intensive Care Unit at Port-of-Spain General Hospital.
“While he was on the boat, he said he saw Marcus spinning and going under. He dived down and held Marcus. A party boat rendered assistance,” Gorin said.
“He said he heard the little girl crying out for help, and by the time the Coast Guard turned the boat around, they couldn’t find her.”
Meanwhile, Jonathan Salandy, owner of Pontoon Tours, said he witnessed the collision and immediately ordered his crew to assist. He recalled seeing one vessel become airborne before noticing people in the water.
“Some of them unfortunately weren’t able to swim,” Salandy said, noting that several victims were pulled aboard his vessel while crew members administered first aid.
Meanwhile, speaking at Chaguaramas yesterday, Kieyanna’s cousin, Alana Reynolds, said survivors gave family members a harrowing account of the moments leading up to the collision.
According to Reynolds, passengers reported that their vessel had encountered the other boat on three occasions before the crash.
“I was informed by a few of the conscious and oriented members of the vessel that they would have run into some issues with the vessel that collided with them on three occasions, three consecutive occasions,” Reynolds claimed.
She said survivors told relatives the fishing vessel attempted evasive action twice, but on the third encounter the approaching boat struck their vessel.
“The boat went up in the sky and split in two, and the last thing they remember is that they were all in the water,” she said.
Reynolds said survivors later reported hearing Kieyanna calling for help after the collision.
“They heard Kieyanna screaming. She screamed twice for help, and by the time they got there, they couldn’t find her.”
Despite the passage of time, family members remained hopeful she would be found alive
“We are uneasy. We are grappling to accept the worst-case scenario, but she’s a fighter. She has her level two swimming certification, so we are hoping she’s somehow on a shoreline, dehydrated but alive. The family is preparing to assist with the search along the coast.”
Reynolds said survivors claimed the other vessel was travelling at high speed and there were unconfirmed reports a minor may have been operating it. However, she acknowledged she was not present and could not independently verify those claims.
Marine Services Association of Trinidad and Tobago president Jesse James yesterday said authorities and industry stakeholders had already begun implementing a small-vessel licensing programme aimed at improving safety standards before this latest incident.
Under the initiative, watercraft would be required to obtain a licence similar to a driver’s permit.
“Every person operating a craft on all waters, whether it’s a jet ski, a small dinghy or a large boat, must have this licence,” James said.
He argued that many operators continue to ignore regulations governing speeds, navigation channels and right-of-way rules.
“There are channel markers in the bays over here, but nobody observes them. People buy a boat and do what they want,” he said, adding that effective enforcement would be critical to preventing similar tragedies.
Nige Hutt, a South African yachtie who joined the search effort, echoed those concerns. The 62-year-old said decades of experience on the water had convinced him that licensing and mandatory safety requirements are essential.
“Back in South Africa, they are very strict when it comes to licensing operators and vessels and ensuring they carry all the required safety equipment,” Hutt said.
“Sometimes you feel it’s too much, but when something like this happens, you realise it’s absolutely necessary. Anyone operating a vessel should be licensed, educated and qualified.”
Responding to questions on the incident from Guardian Media yesterday, Works Minister Jerlean John said regulations and inspections alone cannot eliminate accidents at sea.
“Vessel owners, operators and captains must also take personal responsibility for safety at sea,” she said.
John said the ministry, through its Maritime Services Division, registers and surveys vessels to ensure they meet required safety standards. She noted that ferries are inspected every 90 days, while party boats are inspected before sailing to ensure compliance with applicable safety requirements.
