By Sue-Ann Wayow
PARIA Fuel Trading Company Ltd had no one to continuously monitor works being conducted by subcontractor LMCS on Berth #6 when the four underwater divers were sucked into a pipeline.
HSE technician assigned to Paria, Andrew Dopson on Wednesday testified that if someone was monitoring works constantly, the four divers could have been alive today.
Dopson was tasked to do periodic checks every hour on the berth, checking the atmospheric conditions inside the hyperbaric chamber as well as the conditions for hot works on the barge that those conditions remained unchanged.
He said he was aware of a screen that was being monitored which showed the works taking place inside the chamber.
He said he believed the dive supervisor from LMCS would have been tasked with monitoring the screen which he also said he believed was LMCS’s and Paria did not use that screen to monitor the works.
Counsel to the CoE, Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, SC, asked Dopson, “As far as you are telling us, was there any system that you knew that Paria monitored the works continually during its operations that day?”
“No, not that I know of,” was Dopson’s response.
Later in his questioning, Maharaj informed Dopson of what occurred at the berth when migration barriers were removed by LMCS, an action that was not listed in the work permit.
Maharaj asked, “You know from what happened afterwards that the migration barrier was removed?”
Dopson replied, “ Yes”
Maharaj, “ And it caused persons to be sucked into the pipe.”
Dopson, “Yes.”
Maharaj, “ Would you agree with me that if as you said you had seen on the video screen that they had removed the top of the riser..”
Dopson, “ The solid blank.”
Maharaj, “Yes the solid blank”
Maharaj, “And you had remained there to see what was happening, you could have stopped the work?”
Dopson, “I agree.”
Maharaj, “And if you had stopped the work, this accident would not have occurred?”
Dopson, “I agree.”
Maharaj, “Are you telling us today that as far as you knew… as far as you are aware of, Paria did not have anybody assigned to monitor the compliance of this job in accordance with the work permit that day.”
Dopson, “ I can only answer from the HSE department.”
Maharaj, “Yes so what is your answer?”
Dopson, “I was supposed to do periodically checks so if you are saying monitoring means constant, you mean constant, constant monitoring..”
Maharaj , “Yes continously.”
Dopson, “No.”
Dopson told the CoE that he was also not aware of neither LMCS nor Paria’s plans for rescue after the accident occurred on the afternoon of February 25, 2022.
