Senior Multimedia Reporter
radhica.sookraj@guardian.co.tt
Energy Minister Ernesto Kesar has pledged that the Government will take stronger action to prevent workplace deaths and serious injuries, saying tragedies like the Paria Diving disaster in February 2022, which claimed four lives, and the death of worker Pete Phillip in June 2023, must never be repeated.
Speaking at the Centre for Chemical Process Safety conference at the C3 Centre this week, Kesar said incidents and oil spills across the energy sector have increased in recent years, describing the situation as a growing concern for the industry.
“It is indeed a fact that there has been an increase over the last five years,” Kesar said. “Following the Paria incident and the Pete Phillip tragedy, those things are two major blotches on the industry. As a regulator, I would not like to see anything like this happen again in any year at all.”
Kesar said the Ministry of Energy supports stronger regulation and oversight, including mandatory certification and registration for engineers.
“If someone is performing the role of an engineer and they are not registered, that has to be rectified,” he said. “We will support anything that redounds to us obeying the law.”
He also confirmed that the government remains committed to introducing corporate manslaughter legislation, a measure proposed during the Paria Commission of Enquiry to hold negligent companies and individuals accountable.
“Our Prime Minister herself said it publicly in Parliament—later in our term, we are going to amend the legislation to make sure that something like that becomes law,” Kesar said. “Persons who took their responsibility for granted will face the law if their negligence leads to a worker’s death.”
Addressing concerns about the shortage of certified Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) inspectors, particularly for offshore operations, Kesar said those matters fall under the Ministry of Labour but agreed they were valid.
“I’m sure my comrade will do what he has to do,” he said. “He is also a comrade who will see us when it comes to worker safety.”
The minister added that after more than a century in the oil and gas sector, better coordination between agencies and private companies is needed to make safety a national priority.
“Safety has been kicked down the kerb,” he warned. “Those in charge of companies must take responsibility. When an accident happens, it not only hurts the bottom line—it hurts lives. There’s a domino impact, and we must move to eradicate these accidents.”
Industry professionals echoed Kesar’s call for a stronger safety culture.
Wayne Mohan, Process Safety Manager at Heritage Petroleum, said process safety incidents—those involving equipment or operational failures—have increased and can have devastating consequences.
“There’s always concern when you have a process safety incident,” Mohan said. “We have seen the increase. I’m a bit concerned, but with the support of engineering bodies, government, and leaders within organisations, we can curb this.”
He said participation in the safety conference continues to grow each year.
“It started with 85 persons, then 200, and this year 250,” he said. “Companies now recognise the importance of process safety. They’re not waiting to be asked—they’re coming forward to help.”
Safety advocate Maurice Massiah also renewed his call for mandatory registration of engineers with the Board of Engineering of Trinidad and Tobago, saying competence verification is critical to preventing industrial accidents.
“Process safety incidents tend to recur with short frequencies, and the data supports this worldwide,” Massiah said. “Registration is an assurance check on competence—it looks at both qualifications and experience. Yet many of our engineers have not gone through that process.”
He explained that under the current 1985 legislation, registration remains voluntary, leaving enforcement up to individual companies.
“Some companies insist on it, but it’s not consistent across the board,” he said. “Because it’s not mandatory, many engineers have not presented themselves for registration.”
