Chinese ferry suffers mechanical problems
The newly-acquired Chinese ferry, Sabanto, suffered engine problems yesterday and had to be towed by the MV Malali.
According to passengers, the incident happened around 05:45hrs between the Leguan and Parika Essequibo River edge area. Sabanto, which started its run on the route late last year, reportedly
had about15 minutes more to reach the stelling.
The vessel started to move after the workers managed to restart the engines after several attempts.
Malali, which was headed to Parika, turned back to help Sabanto, towing it to Parika. By the time it was all tied up, the engines started again and the Malali left. But the troubles with the vessel continued after the engines failed again.
Sabanto was one of two ferries gifted to Guyana and which became operational late last year in the Essequibo River. Before the arrival of the two vessels, Guyana had to depend on ferries that were built several decades ago.