kevon.felmine@guardian.co.tt
After weeks of passionately wrangling with those involved in the tragic deaths of five Land and Marine Contracting Services (LMCS) divers 10 months ago, the attorney for the bereaved families, Prakash Ramadhar, is recommending criminal charges against Paria Fuel Trading Company.
As the evidential hearings in the Commission of Enquiry in the Paria/LMCS tragedy winds down, Ramadhar continued his criticism of Paria’s management of Christopher Boodram, Fyzal Kurban, Yusuf Henry, Kazim Ali Jr and Rishi Nagassar’s plunge into a 30-inch Sealine No.36.
The incident occurred at Paria’s Berth No.6 in the Pointe-a-Pierre harbour on February 25, 2022, as the men performed subsea maintenance. Ramadhar told the CoE that Paria’s Incident Management Team (IMT) failed to act while the clock ran down on these divers’ lives. He said it was not his nature to prosecute anyone, but it was a recommendation he would make after reflection and deliberations with others.
“Mr (Gilbert) Peterson knows well, because he prosecutes a lot, that there are times when a statement has to be made that you are not just to hide behind a corporate veil and corporate responsibility, that you are not personally accountable, except maybe you get a commission and you have to answer questions here or in a court of law. And you answer, and whatever the result is in a civil courtroom, you are not affected. Your salary continues, but your entity pays, or the State pays. So I move against my inner instincts that there should be criminal prosecution recommended in this matter,” Ramadhar said.
Ramadhar recalled the evidence of both Paria’s Incident Commander Collin Piper and General Manager Mushtaq Mohammed that what happens on the company’s property is its responsibility. Ramadhar said this view led them to take God-like authority to prevent a rescue.
As a State-company, management used the Coast Guard to prevent a rescue effort and chose not to allow the police on the compound.
“If at your home, there is a horrible accident of a contractor having come, for instance, to put up windows and the contractor falls, the window falls, and he is cut and bleeding out. His assistant, who is supposed to be there, is also cut and bleeding out. Your place is so fenced and well protected that you say nobody is coming into my property? No rescue?”
Ramadhar said the likelihood of the divers’ survival in the pipe diminished with every passing hour. While he could not say when the divers died, he said that the IMT knew, from their accounts, that the men would most likely die after four to six hours. However, they did nothing and waited for a camera device to assess and write plans, knowing that it would arrive long after the men were most likely dead.
“How do I characterise that decision?”
Ramadhar also suggested that the State set up a National Emergency Command Centre run by people with military backgrounds who experienced combat so they can make tough decisions during dreadful situations.
He said this centre should have access to State and international resources and a register of experts to call on in times of emergency.
Although there is already a Workmen’s Compensation Act, Ramadhar suggested the State begin a fund for workplace injuries. He said Nagassar’s wife, Vanessa Kussie, held a BBQ before Christmas to raise funds to support her family.
He said OSHA should also retrain health and safety personnel and form part of Incident Management Teams. He also called for psychological evaluation of members charged with emergency responses to ensure they are suitable for their roles and not overly emotional.
Ramadhar was also incensed by Paria’s treatment of the divers’ families, whom he said the company left in the parking lot like “old dogs” for days, clamouring for information about their loved ones. He called for basic human decency in dealing with the families of victims.
Ramadhar thanked CoE Chairman Jerome Lynch, QC, for ruling against Paria, who made an application to prevent the divers’ families from making statements during the hearing.
He said he knew Peterson was not trying to stifle the families’ voices but followed instructions from his client, Paria.
