12 boat owners currently without work

Twelve boat owners on Tuesday had to watch helplessly how their boats were being crushed by an oil tanker on the Suriname River. The collision destroyed fishing boats, the landing stage and the dam. Reports indicate that the dam is already being reconstructed. Rudi Martodimedjo, coordinator at the Fishery Center, pointed out that the State Oil Company (Staatsolie) will assess the damage in association with the fishermen. There will also be a background check to determine if the fishermen have a fishing permit. Staatsolie also wants to know what kind of nets were present, what kind of outboard motors the boats had and how much each boat costs. Martodimedjo explained that the person responsible for the damage also must not “suffer because of the damage report.” He pointed out that the fishermen will also submit an insurance claim because they are currently out of a job. The district commissioner of Commewijne, Ajaikoemar Kali, pointed out that the minister of Defense visited the center to assess the situation and that he also addressed the fishermen before handing out food parcels to the boat owners. DC Ajaikoemar on Tuesday talked to several executives from Staatsolie who indicated that a team of the company that owns the oil tanker will visit the scene of the accident to assess the damage with Staatsolie. Staatsolie recently issued a press release, indicating that it had leased the oil tanker that was involved in a collision and that the oil tanker was on its way to the harbor at Tout Lui Faut to ‘pick up’ oil. Due to reasons unknown the oil tanker went adrift in the vicinity of Nieuw Amsterdam before ramming several fishing boats and the wharf. The Maritime Authority Suriname (MAS) has reportedly ordered the ship to drop the anchor pending the investigation. Staatsolie deemed the accident regrettable and will reportedly cover the damage.