As the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard continues its agonising search off Chaguaramas following Sunday evening’s devastating vessel collision, which left five people missing, including teenagers Kieyanna Seechan and Amir Ali, the nation is once again confronting a tragedy that was entirely preventable.
This catastrophe is not an isolated incident. Nor is it without precedent.
In April, seven-year-old Angelica Jogie lost her life after being struck by a jet ski while bathing within a designated safe zone at Pigeon Point Heritage Park in Tobago. Just five months later, two pirogues collided off the same beach, injuring eight people, including visitors to our shores. Across both islands, from the busy waters of Chaguaramas to the bays of Buccoo and Store Bay, fatal accidents and dangerous near misses have become an increasingly alarming feature of recreational boating.
Yet every maritime disaster in Trinidad and Tobago follows a depressingly familiar pattern. Public outrage surges, condolences are offered, promises of stricter enforcement are made, and then attention fades until the next tragedy strikes.
For almost three decades, advocacy groups such as Fishermen and Friends of the Sea have urged successive governments to modernise outdated maritime legislation and implement comprehensive regulations for pleasure craft. Their appeals have been met largely with delay and indifference. The failure to act decisively has left our waters inadequately regulated and the public unnecessarily exposed to risk.
Legislation, however, cannot replace personal responsibility.
Far too many pleasure-craft operators, jet ski renters and pirogue captains behave as though the nation’s waterways are lawless highways. Speeding through crowded areas, operating vessels at night without proper lighting, consuming alcohol while navigating, and disregarding lifejacket requirements are not minor infractions. They are reckless acts that place lives in jeopardy.
If this cycle is to be broken, T&T must adopt and enforce maritime safety standards that reflect international best practice while addressing local realities.
No one should be permitted to operate a commercial pirogue, pleasure craft or jet ski without mandatory training, competency testing and licensing. Popular bathing areas, from Chaguaramas to Pigeon Point, should be protected by clearly marked exclusion zones that keep motorised vessels at a safe distance from swimmers. Coastal speed limits must be established and rigorously enforced.
At the same time, the Maritime Services Division and the Tobago House of Assembly should require regular vessel inspections, functioning navigational lights, engine cut-off switches and adequate life-saving equipment aboard every vessel operating commercially or recreationally.
Most importantly, regulations must be backed by meaningful enforcement. The Coast Guard and marine police need the resources to conduct routine inspections, registration checks and sobriety testing on the water, supported by rapid emergency response capabilities onshore.
The latest tragedy must result in more than condolences and promises. It must be the catalyst for lasting reform.
Safer waters require clear rules, responsible operators and authorities willing to enforce the law consistently, not only in the aftermath of disaster but every day. We owe those still missing off Chaguaramas, and all those who have lost their lives in previous maritime incidents, nothing less than decisive action and unwavering accountability.
