PARAMARIBO--Less than a month after one of its oil tankers ran adrift and demolished fishing boats at Niuew Amsterdam in District Commewijne, state oil company Staatsolie has compensated all fishermen that were affected by the incident. The fishermen were presented with cheques on Monday, the company reported in a press release on Thursday.
The incident on November 19 had horrified the small fishing village located at the mouth of the Suriname River. Video footage shows the colossal oil tanker Tradewind Legend getting off course and running straight into a pier, ripping everything in its path to shreds. Twelve boats were completely demolished. Fortunately no one was hurt.
The tanker is one of several ships Staatsolie leases to transport crude oil from its plants to refineries abroad. The company was quick to apologise for the incident and promised an investigation into what had caused the vessel to go adrift; reports would later indicate a mechanical failure. Staatsolie had meanwhile assured that the inconvenienced fishermen would be compensated. Managing Director Rudolf Elias said that both his company and the lease agent were duly insured for these types of incident.
At the small ceremony on Monday at Staatsolie corporate headquarters in Paramaribo, the fishermen said they were pleased with the company’s gesture. The cheques they received would cover their loss of income and enable them to buy new boats and outboards. Fishermen’s Collective Chairman Mark Lall said he was happy that Staatsolie had acted properly to ensure that the fishermen would not be left without their means of income for too long. “Staatsolie was aware that the fishing boats were important to these men. This enables them to go them back to work soon,” he said.
