National Security officials are countering suggestions that the officers were operating a faulty vessel and were stranded without food.
Yesterday a Defence Force officer, who did not wish to be named, told The Tribune that for 30 hours the RBDF sent no help to the 29 Defence Force officers on the ship.
The source said the Yellow ļ¾ Elder was experiencing mechanical problems prior to its departure from the Coral Harbour base.
The officer called it “ridiculous” that the officers had to wait that long for assistance.
“Those men were stuck out there for about 30 hours with no light and no food,” he said.
“That’s ridiculous. They puttheir lives an the line – for what… to get stranded?”
National Security under-secretary Peter Deveaux-Isaacs refuted the officer’s claim.
The vessel, he said, “would not go out to sea unless it was seaworthy”.
He added: “When these things happen they are handled as quickly as possible.”
Mr Deveaux-Isaacs said he assumed officers did have both food and light.
Permanent secretary Mark Wilson said the 108-foot craft is simply an old boat.
“We do our best to maintain them (the boats), but they break down from time to time,” he said. “It’s an old boat and that is the reality, so they do have their problems.”
Over the past month, RBDF officers have expressed concern about various issues, including boat maintenance.
They said overall morale at the base was low and that officers and marines were becoming angry and frustrated.
“One mechanic, who is also an officer, had to bring his own tools to repair the boat the last time it was going out,” said one officer yesterday. “That alone shows the officers’ dedication to their job, and the lack of care given by our officials.”
In May, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Security Cynthia Pratt announced that the RBDF would undergo a four-stage review beginning in July.
The purpose of the review was to evaluate the force and suggest improvements. In a statement on September 14, Mr. Wilson said that Mrs Pratt had announced on July 29 the “review board and the work schedule of the board that would extend over five months and culminate in the production of a report by the end of the year”. Mr Wilson said the review board had already started its work.
Mr. Wilson added that the officers’ personal issues and concerns should be addressed to the board, not the press.
Source: Karan Minnis, The Tribune
