By Sue-Ann Wayow
WITHIN six months, the Commission of Enquiry (CoE) into the deaths of the four LMCS divers at Paria Facilities has concluded all of its witness statements oral and written.
The much-anticipated final outcome of the enquiry that has captured the public’s attention nationally and internationally is expected by the end of April of this year.
The CoE which began with a rocky start eventually ended with two commissioners subsea specialist Gregory Wilson and Jerome Lynch, KC, from Jamaica who chaired the proceedings.
Lynch who was asked to chair the enquiry on July 6, 2022, received favour from both counsel and the public for the manner in which he has dealt with the CoE’s proceedings and the numerous witnesses.
The witnesses included sole survivor of the February 25, 2022 incident Christopher Boodram, Paria’s management Collin Piper, Mushtaq Mohammed and Catherine Balkissoon, head of LMCS Kazim Ali Sr who also his lost his son Kazim Ali Jr in the accident, the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard, Kenson employees, other divers, expert opinions and other personnel from both LMCS and Paria.
The women affected by the deaths of Fyzal Kurban, Yusuf Henry, Rishi Nagassar and Kazim Ali Jr also gave witness statements during the live evidentiary hearings all of which took place at the International Waterfront Centre, Port-of-Spain.
Members of counsel consisted of senior counsel to the Commission Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, senior counsel to Paria Gilbert Peterson along with attorney Jason Mootoo, counsel to LMCS Kamini Persaud-Maharaj, attorney for the families of Yusuf Henry and Fyzal Kurban Prakash Ramadhar, Kenson’s attorney Chase Pegus and Seamen and Waterfront Workers Trade Union (SWWTU attorney Nyree Alfonso.
During his closing statements on Friday, Lynch thanked all who made the Commission possible, which would not have been without the hard work and cooperation by all involved.
He heaped praises upon Maharaj, whose legal team and backroom staff whose efforts he described as exemplary in ensuring all witness statements were prepared for the hearings.
Lynch also said Secretariat to the Commission Sarah Sinanan was “magnificent” in the execution of her duties to the Commission and she was also highly commended by other counsel members for her assistance during the CoE when they gave their closing statements earlier this week.
To the public Lynch said, “Thank you, all of you, for making me feel personally welcomed in this country and valued.”
He added that many times, he would be stopped in the streets and asked if his photograph could be taken which was slightly embarrassing he said with a smile.
“But is has been rewarding to think that the efforts that we, Mr Wilson and I have put in are appreciated by the population at large. So I thank you all for that.”
Lynch continued, “It is good and gratifying to know that the people of Trinidad and Tobago have so readily taken to me, this foreigner who has come to exercise my best abilities in this enquiry.”
He promised to continue diligently working to ensure and produce the CoE’s report “of which everyone can be proud” by April, 2023.
While Lynch said it was up to Government to make the report public, he said Minister of Energy and Energy Industries Stuart Young was anxious to make it public as soon as possible, repeating that he would do whatever he can to ensure that.
He said, “Whatever our ultimate findings, it would not have been driven by rumour, superstition or emotion. It would have been driven by the evidence that we have heard and read.”
“We will not lose sight that Kazim Ali Jr, Rishi Nagassar, Yusuf Henry and Fyzal Kurban lost their lives that Christopher Boodram continues and remains scarred by the events that took place on the 25th of February of last year,” Lynch assured.
Family, friends and other relatives of the men who died also remained scarred by those events, he stated.
The CoE has scheduled March 14 for the viewing of the hyperbaric chamber that is to be lifted from the seabed and an additional day for the hearing of any evidence that may arise out of that activity or otherwise on March 15.
