CHAGUANAS WEST MP Dinesh Rambally believes the public deserves answers on the December 22 partial collapse of Well Services Petroleum Ltd's Rig 110 which left one man injured and another missing at sea.
In a release on January 3, Rambally warned that the incident must not be forgotten amidst the state of emergency and other recent events.
"This accident brings a gush of bad memories over the Paria accident and the lost divers. There is a high demand for a full accounting of just how this happened, who is to blame and whether the relevant authorities responded with appropriate urgency."
"The country deserves answers and the family of Pete Phillip needs closure."
Phillip, 47, was part of a 75-member crew on board the company's Rig 110, located in Heritage's offshore acreage near Point Fortin.
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The rig experienced a partial collapse around 3.09 am on December 22.
All of his co-workers were safely evacuated from the rig.
Search and rescue efforts for Phillip transitioned to a search and recovery operation on December 26, 2024, after Well Services presumed he was dead having been missing at sea for four days.
This was also temporarily stopped on December 30 as the company awaits additional safety measures to be implemented at the disaster site.
On December 27, Well Services said searches along the coastline from Granville, Cedros to Point Coco and Icacos found no signs of Phillip or any personal protective equipment (PPE).
The Coast Guard, Heritage Petroleum, international maritime expert T&T Salvage, the HSRT and volunteer fishermen have been involved in efforts to find Phillip.
On January 25, 2022, five Land and Marine Contracting Services Ltd divers, Christopher Boodram, Kazim Ali Jr, Fyzal Kurban, Rishi Nagessar and Yusuf Henry were sucked into a large pipeline by a sudden and rapid change in pressure while performing maintenance work on an underwater pipeline at Paria Fuel Trading Company.
Boodram was the only one to make it out and survive.
Meanwhile, Rambally also urged the government to use its two-day retreat in Tobago on January 5 and 6 to devise a "comprehensive legislative agenda with short but realistic timelines to address issues of transparency, good governance, anti-corruption and most importantly combating the spiralling crime."
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He said the Prime Minister invited his parliamentary colleagues in early 2024 to support bills on repatriating nationals from war zones, an amendment to the Firearms Act and campaign finance but none have since materialised.
