Panamanian company sued over Demerara Harbour Bridge $1B repair cost
The Demerara Harbour Bridge Corporation (DHBC) has moved to recover the $1B spent to repair the bridge after fuel tanker—MT Tradewind Passion—crashed into it on October 8, rendering it inoperable for approximately 48 hours.
Against Canama Trading S De RL, the Panamanian company that owns the vessel, the DHBC is seeking in excess of $1.050B in damages. Despite several oral demands for the sum, the DHBC said the company has refused to pay it.
According to the corporation, the collision resulted from the vessel’s master’s negligence. At the time, the fuel vessel was under the command of Captain Freddy Mendoza, advised by Pilot Kenneth Cole, who has over 20 years of experience in his field.
Apart from damages, the DHBC is also asking for interests, any further or other orders the court deems just, and costs. DHBC’s claim was filed by lawyer Sanjeev Datadin, a PPP Member of Parliament. The fuel tanker was detained following the collision.
And in a countersuit, Canama Trading S De RL is claiming more than $100,000 in damages against the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD), the DHBC and the Harbour Master for what it termed as the unlawful detention of its vessel.
The company contends that in the absence of an application to the court pursuant to Section 439 (1) of Guyana’s Shipping Act, the DHBC had no right to detain the ship. The corporation has since asked a Judge to issue an arrest warrant against the fuel tanker.
A Board of Inquiry (BoI) into the incident, among other things, recommended that the vessel’s pilot be suspended for not less than 24 months.
“Pilot Kenneth Cort must be suspended for a period of not less than 24 months and only be allowed to return to duty after a process of recertification, assessment of his competency to operate as a pilot by the [Maritime Administration Department],” the BoI advised.
Cort, a Guyanese, was tested for drugs and alcohol after the collision but those tests returned negative. The vessel which transports fuel for the Guyana Oil (Guyoil) Company, while heading south, crashed into the Demerara Harbour Bridge on October 8, despite desperate calls to drop anchor from the Shift Supervisor Andy Duke, reports state. 
Duke, who was in one of the lookout towers, related that he tried desperately to communicate with the pilot without success. He eventually had to jump from the booth in an effort to save his own life. He fractured his leg in the process and was hospitalised.
The other men who were working at the bottom of the bridge including Mechanical Maintenance engineer Ahmad Khan had to run for their lives. The collision resulted in extensive damages to critical components of the 54-year-old floating structure.
