[UPDATED] Commission of Enquiry: Charge Paria with corporate manslaughter

THE Report of the Commission of Enquiry into the Paria tragedy said the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) should consider charging the Paria Fuel Trading Company with corporate manslaughter. The report was laid in the House of Representatives on Friday.

“There is not a strong enough case to recommend the prosecution of any one individual. However, the law permits a corporation to be charged with manslaughter.

“There are sufficient grounds to conclude that Paria’s negligence could be characterised as gross negligence and consequently criminal.

“They (the commissioners) recommend that the DPP consider charging Paria with what is commonly known as corporate manslaughter.”

However, the report later added, “We do not conclude that the same is true of LMCS, as we are of the view that they were effectively prevented from pursuing a rescue by Paria.”

The report said there was evidence to prosecute Paria manager Colin Piper and LMCS head Kazim Ali Snr (whose son died in the tragedy) and their firms for offences under the Occupational Safety and Health Act. The report said the deadline to file such proceedings at the Industrial Court was two years after the incident, that is, February 24, but recommended this be extended to three years.

Responding to questions about the report in Parliament on Friday, Energy Minister Stuart Young said it was sent to the DPP, who can take further action and decide whether to send it to police.

Otherwise, the report lamented the treatment of the victims’ families but praised tragedy survivor Christopher Boodram.

On February 25, 2002, five workers – Christopher Boodram, Kazim Ali Junior, Fyzal Kurban, Yusuf Henry and Rishi Nagassar – were repairing a 30-inch pipeline at Pointe-a-Pierre but were sucked in, with only Boodram escaping to later recount the tragedy to the commission.

The enquiry heard about the causes of the accident plus allegations that unofficial rescue efforts were blocked, even as Paria argued botched efforts could have caused more deaths.

The report blamed both Paria and its subcontractor LMCS for the cause of the tragedy, where a gush of water suddenly sucked the men into an undersea pipeline after a pressure differential known as “delta P”.

It quoted expert Zaid Khan saying the root cause of the accident was the failure by both Paria and LMCS to recognise that a latent (dormant) delta P condition was likely created by the methodology used in the execution of the works.

“The removal of fuel oil from the line (pipeline) and the installation of the migration barrier created a large, gaseous void in sea line 36.

“This void served as the pre-requisite for the latent delta P hazard that was created when the habitat was installed and then pressurised to facilitate work within the habitat. The hazard was overlooked by both LMCS and Paria.”

The report cited Lynch’s letter of November 30, 2023, to President Kangaloo announcing the report’s completion, where he urged the Government to publish it to “provide some solace to the stoicism of the victims and their families.”

The chairman also saluted Boodram.

“It is right that I should single out Christopher Boodram for his undoubted commitment in doing all he could to help his friends and colleagues on that fateful day in the pipeline and then in coming before us to give his evidence. That was not easy. He is a credit to his family, the people and the country of Trinidad and Tobago.”

The report said Boodram’s testimony was “harrowing”, in having just six inches height of air to breathe and having to crawl out to seek help for his colleagues.

It lamented that on escaping the pipeline, he met an abandoned habitat lacking lights and cameras which he was unable to clamber out of.

“By a quirk of fate, the chain block that was used to remove the plug from the line was hanging down into the pipeline and he was able to wrap it around his arm to stay afloat.”

Apart from Boodram’s insistence the men be rescued, no one asked him about them nor the conditions in the pipe during those crucial minutes and hours, the report lamented.

“We make it clear again that we found his evidence truthful, accurate and compelling,” the report said.

This story was originally published with the title Commission of Enquiry: Charge Paria with corporate manslaughter.  See original post below.

THE Report of the Commission of Enquiry into the Paria tragedy said the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) should consider charging the Paria Fuel Trading Company Ltd with corporate manslaughter.

"The Commissioners are minded to recommend that on evidence, there are sufficient grounds to conclude that Paria's negligence could be characterised as gross negligence and consequently criminal," the commission's report said.

"They recommend that the DPP consider charging Paria with what is commonly known as corporate manslaughter."

Otherwise, the report also concluded there was evidence to prosecute Paria Fuel’s terminal operations manager Colin Piper and LMCS owner Kazim Ali Snr (whose son died in the tragedy) for offences under the Occupational Safety and Health Act. The report recommends that Paria and LMCS also face charges for offences under the OSH Act.

The report said the deadline for proceedings to be filed at the Industrial Court was two years after the incident, that is, February 24.

Otherwise the report lamented the treatments of the victims' families, but praised incident survivor Christopher Boodram as a credit to Trinidad and Tobago.

The report was laid in the House of Representatives on January 19.

On February 25, 2022, five LMCS workers – Christopher Boodram, Kazim Ali, Fyzal Kurban, Yusuf Henry and Rishi Nagassar – were repairing a 30-inch pipeline at Paria's Pointe-a-Pierre facility but were sucked in, with only Boodram escaping to later recount the tragedy to the commission.

Relatives of the men bitterly complained of being stopped from trying to rescue them, with Paria and the Coast Guard in turn arguing they had tried to prevent further deaths if rescue efforts were botched.