More than ten fishing boats crushed by ship on Suriname River

A ship that was transporting fuel on Monday crushed more than ten fishing boats that were docked at the fishery center that is located at Nieuw Amsterdam in the Commewijne District and along the Suriname River. “The fishermen were shocked when they saw the ship coming towards them. Fortunately nobody was injured but the fishermen have suffered huge losses because there is nothing left of their boats”, Mark Lal of the Fishermen’s Collective told Times of Suriname.

Lal pointed out that after the collision the fishermen tried to salvage whatever they could. According to Lal, several engines were crushed while others sank. The landing stage was also damaged during the collision. The fishermen are still busy calculating the damages. “It is a huge setback. Luckily nobody was injured but we hope that the fishermen will receive compensation because for many of them their only source of income has been destroyed”, said one of the fishermen.

Chief Inspector George Randjitsing, acting regional police chief of East, told Times of Suriname that the captain of the ship probably had difficulty keeping the boat steady when he was in the vicinity of Nieuw Amsterdam around 13:00 hours. The ship then headed towards the fishery center and did not stop despite the fact that the captain had lowered the anchor. Nobody was in the fishing boats when the collision took place. No oil leaks were reported. The Maritime Authority Suriname (MAS) is still investigating the incident.