Efforts continue to stabilise sinking Guyana ship

THE crew of the cargo vessel HEIN, which ran aground just off Monos Island on June 10 while en route to St Vincent carrying construction materials, is receiving assistance from both private and state agencies to stabilise the ship.

When Newsday visited the site on June 11, the vessel’s owner, Abbas Farouk, was present, co-ordinating operations. People were being transported to and from the vessel, and sling bags were being used to offload cargo to reduce the vessel's weight.

Farouk engaged the services of Capital Signal, which dispatched the tugboat C Prowler along with a barge equipped with a crane to aid in the operation.

Despite the incident, the vessel appears intact and is not leaking fuel.

Captain Ronald Wilde, who has over 30 years of maritime experience and has taught navigation and safety in Trinidad for the past two decades, was also on site.

Speaking to the media, Wilde said, “I’ve done a lot of salvage and pulled ships off rocks before. This is a fairly simple situation. While it is technically an emergency, there’s nothing dire here.”

Wilde confirmed a barge had arrived to help lighten the load and alleviate the vessel’s list, which he explained was caused by a cargo shift. He commended the vessel’s captain for his quick thinking.

“He did an excellent job by beaching the vessel safely, which helped protect both the ship and crew. That’s exactly what I would have advised in such a situation.”

He noted offloading the necessary tonnage to refloat the vessel would take time. Most of the cargo will likely be removed from the port side to help bring the ship closer to a stable position, though it may still not be fully level when it refloats.

Wilde outlined the expected refloating procedure.

“The vessel will need to be towed out stern-first to clear the rudder and propeller from rocks and the shoal. The next opportunity may come with the high tides, either around first light tomorrow or in the evening. If 50 to 100 tonnes are removed by then, she (the vessel) might be able to refloat.”

Addressing environmental concerns, Wilde said a small amount of light oil, likely less than a cup, had spilt when the vessel began tilting. However, he stressed it was not heavy diesel, was not persistent, and posed no environmental threat.

“There’s no tragedy here. The ship is sound, and everyone will go home safely.”

Wilde also said the grounding may have been the result of a miscommunication regarding an approaching storm.

He concluded there were currently no signs of hydrocarbons leaking into the water. Because the vessel’s captain had already secured help from Capital Signal, and there was no need for authorities to board the ship at that time.

According to VesselFinder, an online site that tracks vessels around the world, the HEIN is a general cargo ship built in 1966 (making it 59 years old) and is currently sailing under the flag of Guyana. It has an overall length of 61.75 metres and a tonnage of 861.

Gary Aboud, corporate secretary of the environmental advocacy group Fishermen and Friends of the Sea (FFOS), acknowledged the boat had to be deliberately run aground to save the crew and the captain. He thanked the business community for its efforts in mobilising support to assist the vessel.

“When it ran aground, there was a sighting of oil and diesel because there was some liquid bilge on the deck that washed into the water. There was concern it could escalate. We weren't sure what the vessel was carrying, the volume of liquid, or whether it was contained. Our main concern was a storm last night (June 10), and it might further damage the vessel. We were lucky there was no storm last night or today.”

Aboud also acknowledged the efforts made to shift the vessel’s load in order to stabilise it:

“It appears that everything is okay. We spoke to the captain, we spoke to the manager, and we spoke to several technical experts, and everything is okay. God has blessed us with another day.”

Turning his attention to the former government, he criticised the condition of the response vessel.

“We were very embarrassed to see several government representatives visiting the grounded vessel on a dilapidated, poorly managed, antique pirogue labelled ‘Coast Guard.’ Such a disgrace for us taxpayers, especially when we consider the millions, trillions, even billions spent.”

Saying the former minister of national security Fitzgerald Hinds, should be ashamed of the state of these vessels and his management of the Coast Guard.