Fisherfolk co-op seeks own rescue vessel in safety drive

A fishing co-operative is exploring the acquisition of its own rescue vessel amid mounting safety concerns following recent disappearances and a deadly maritime incident involving Caribbean fishermen, Barbados TODAY can reveal.

Two Oistins fishermen – Othneil Harewood and Chinese national Zhi Cai Su – disappeared at sea in March, and a Trinidadian died after he and his five colleagues were rescued from the St Vincent VII, which sank off the coast of French Guiana following a fire on board the vessel this week. 

Now, the Black Fin Fleet Co-operative Society (BFFCS) is looking to make a significant maritime safety upgrade, president Moonesh Dharampaul disclosed.

He told Barbados TODAY: “I would like to see the fishermen have their own rescue vessel. I think that as a co-operative, that is something that we should go towards… because we can’t depend… obviously the Coast Guard has a lot of mandates that they have to carry out in terms of protecting the country; and Barbados is becoming more of a maritime hub; and we are concerned about safety at sea.

“And we think that we should be able to have our own vessel to carry out training at sea for the fishermen. That vessel would be used in towing and so on. So, as the industry develops, that is something we would like to see happening. 

“We noticed that sometimes you may call into the Coast Guard, and you may not get the help that you need. But we don’t know what the exact procedures are. We don’t know if things are changing at the coast guard. So, it remains a challenge. We are trying to get that sorted out, but it remains up in the air.”

Most fishing boats can be tracked, especially with regard to their fishing locations, said Dharampaul but added that crews are more concerned about safety.

“The majority of the boats do carry digital trackers. And that is important, because if a gentleman gets into distress, not only can he call, but we can track him; and that is a real-time scenario that we have going on right now at the Fisheries Division. At first, we thought that the fishermen would have been averse to letting people know their location because then you know exactly where they are fishing. But a lot of the fellows are not worried about that. They are worried about safety at sea.”

For the fisherfolk co-operative leader, the sinking of the Vincentian fishing boat is a lesson to be learnt which should motivate Barbadian fishers to install additional safety equipment on board their vessels.

“This situation with the St Vincent Vll… our co-operative… among ourselves, we are discussing ensuring that all of our boats now get life rafts. We don’t want that to be a government mandated thing. We want it to be something grown out of the industry… because, if it is government mandated, it is going to be a challenge because of legislation and so on. We want to make sure that our vessels in the water have enough safety equipment. 

“Of course, cost is a factor, and even getting this equipment. If you import a life raft, you deploy the life raft to ensure that it is not carrying any contraband, and then you have to get it resealed. So, that is something that the co-operative would like to ensure that we carry enough safety equipment, especially for life rafts or dinghies.”

The crew of the Vincentian vessel did not get a chance to deploy the life raft, said Dharampaul, explaining that the fire spread so rapidly that the fishermen ended up in a dinghy.

“So, safety at sea is our number one priority; and that is something that we are looking to do as a group, as a co-operative. We want to make sure to develop a system that is safe for us, which would include the life raft, or dinghy; which would include the digital trackers in real-time that everyone can see; and the other situation is that in the future we would like to have a rescue vessel for commercial fishermen in Barbados.”

He also suggested that a ship-to-shore radio communication mast that was dismantled during construction work on the Oistins fisheries facility be reinstalled.

“It’s always good to have more than one ear on the water. We are trying to work with other entities to get that antenna back up, especially the Citizen Band Radio Association. They were instrumental on May 8, when we had the simulation of a hurricane. Those fellows were there to help go through the protocols. Sometimes, a fisherman at sea may not follow the right protocols with the channels on the radio. So, we need training to make sure that everybody is on board and so on. The more radios we have, the better it is for us.”

But fishers have also joined the technological race in a bid to be safe at sea. Dharampaul disclosed that many fishing boats now have Starlink, the satellite internet service created by SpaceX, which delivers broadband access in rural and geographically isolated areas where internet connectivity is unreliable or non-existent.

He said: “You could WhatsApp a fellow who is out at sea all like now. So, we get real-time information. But we are very concerned about the safety of the fleet, and we want to make sure that we have the right things in place to help our fellows.

“You would remember that not long ago you had that small boat with the two fishermen that went missing. So, we want to make sure we can deploy the initiatives that we have, and use the technology to safeguard lives at the end of the day. Fishing is a risky business.”

Having Starlink on board fishing vessels also gives fishers the ability to track weather systems while at sea, he added. 

The fishing co-op leader also eyes the government joining the high-tech push with radar. 

“The Regional Security System under Commander [now retired Lieutenant Colonel David] Dowridge, was trying to have more radars on the island. But there were some challenges with the equipment because they used to get the radar equipment out of Israel; and there was a language barrier and then the war… they couldn’t get it, so they probably had to use an American version.”
(EJ)