Cargo vessel catches fire in Wakenaam

…MARAD launches probe

The Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) has launched an investigation into the circumstances that caused a fire to break out on a cargo vessel on Thursday while it was docked at Good Success, Wakenaam Island, in the Essequibo River.
Reports are that the vessel, registered as the MV Belle, was undergoing maintenance work when around 11:00h on the day in question, flames emanating from the engineer’s room quickly spread to other sections of the boat.

The workers were said to be welding when the vessel caught fire.
Fire-fighters were dispatched to the scene and after much effort, they managed to maintain and eventually extinguish the blaze entirely. Nevertheless, the fire resulted in considerable damage to the vessel. Despite the destruction, no casualties were recorded.
The MV Belle is owned by businessman Ferouz Amin and is registered in St Vincent and the Grenadines. However, an application was made for it to be registered in Guyana.
The MARAD has announced that further investigations into the incident are ongoing.