In wake of the recent boat mishap in the Essequibo River which resulted in the death of a man, the Bartica Speedboat Association is calling on all speedboat operators to adhere to the necessary regulations.President of the Association, Christopher Belle, said that the incident was indeed unfortunate, but noted the law should take its course.According to Belle,Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping, the Association has regulations which state that the cut-off time for speedboats plying the Bartica to Parika route is 17:00 hours at either port, Parika or Bartica.In the event of any incident like Saturday’s,http://www.airmaxfantasy.us.com/1600-New-Balance/, Belle said the law would have to take its course.He said over and over the Association has been pleading with speedboat operators to adhere to the regulations.Most of them do, but there are still a few who just decide to take chances for an extra dollar, Belle said.He replied in the negative when asked if any of the boats that ply the Bartica to Parika route are fitted with any lighting system to facilitate night travel.“The only boats that are equipped to travel at night are the jet boats and the Bartica Hospital emergency boat, which is used to transfer patients in emergency cases,” Belle explained.“What we do is close off our operations at the Bartica and Parika stellings at 5 in the afternoons…This means we stop monitoring these ports and taking names for our manifesto,” Belle said.Despite this, Belle said some operators still choose to travel after hours.According to Belle, the Association had approached the Ministry of Transport for approval to have their boats fitted with lights for night travel.When contacted on the issue,Wholesale NFL Jerseys, Minister of Public Works and Transport, Robeson Benn, said that under the present conditions there is no likelihood of his Ministry approving boats to be fitted lighting systems to facilitate night travel.According to Minister Benn, this may be considered once the boats are fitted with the protective shed as they have been mandated to do.Belle said that the speedboat operators are not on target for the March month-end deadline.According to Belle,Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale, so far only three boats are almost fitted with these sheds.In an earlier interview some operators had said that to have the boats fitted with the sheds would be very costly and,Arizona Diamondbacks Fernando Rodney Jersey, according to Belle, that is the main reason most of the operators have not begun building sheds for their boats.As such the association is asking for an extended deadline. However,Cheap Jerseys From China, Minister Benn said he would not comment on the issue of an extended deadline.Commenting on the high cost for the shed, Benn said that the operators were advised to work along with the Maritime Administration Department to come up with a design for a low-cost shed which at the same time would be in keeping with maritime laws. |