Five months after his pirogue was damaged by a pontoon floating off the San Fernando Water Taxi Terminal, La Romaine fisherman Alloy Chapman says he has been unable to provide for his family.
Chapman, 61, who has been fishing for the last nine years, said while he was out of a job, the National Infrastructural Development Company (Nidco) was giving him the runaround in terms of settling his claims so he could repair his vessel.
Currently the 30-foot pirogue, Blue Bone, is out of the water at the San Fernando Fishing Facility, Kings Wharf, with cracks and holes in the hull.
Chapman said it was moored at the fishing facility last October 18, when the pontoon burst its chains and slammed into it, squeezing it against the seawall.
Fishermen who witnessed the incident helped to remove the pontoon and when Chapman went to the wharf the following morning he discovered the pirogue had been damaged. “Since then, my boat has remained there.
The only thing I did was to remove the engine,” Chapman said.
He said after meeting with port captain Allister Khan, he was advised to visit Nidco’s Port-of-Spain office, the organisation which operates the water taxi service.
After meeting with officials there, he said two weeks later, a “Mr Ramkissoon” told him his claims were too high. Since then, there has been no more communication.
Chapman is claiming $34,945 in compensation to repair the vessel and a daily compensation of $500 a day from October 19 last year for loss of potential earnings.
In a response, Nidco said Chapman’s claims were engaging the attention of its legal department while arrangements were being made to retrieve the wrecked pontoon and secure it out of the water.