Two Govt. boats sink off Tobago
From the Tobago News
Two vessels belonging to the Division of Agriculture, Marine Affairs, Marketing and
the Environment had to be fished out from the the waters of Scarborough last week. Read more in
the Tobago News….
Two vessels belonging to the Division of Agriculture, Marine
Affairs, Marketing and the Environment had to be fished from
the waters of Scarborough last week Thursday. The boats, which
were acquired by the Department for approximately $3 million
were moored at the jetty at the Coast Guard facility when the
incident occurred. The boats were moved prior to the incident
in order to facilitate a much larger coast guard vessel.
Secretary of the Division Hilton Sandy confirmed the incident
but declined to give too many details because the matter was
still under investigation. He did, however, tell Tobago News
that there was a dip in the tide resulting in one of the boats
being stuck under the jetty and in an attempt to prevent the
boat from sinking a second boat was tied to it. This move
proved unsuccessful since both boats sank.
The boats were purchased by the Division about two years ago
to assist in patrolling the reefs and other marine spaces.
Tobago News understands though, that the vessels were also
used by the Coast Guard. This was also confirmed by the
Secretary. The boats are now on land at Buccoo. Sandy
explained that they were being inspected thoroughly to
determine if there was any damage to the navigation or
electronic equipment on board. He was expecting that the boats
would be back in operation soon.
An investigation is presently being conducted by the police,
coast guard and staff of the Division of Agriculture, Marine
Affairs, Marketing and the Environment. The Secretary promised
that a report would be sent to the media upon the completion
of these investigations.