PANAJI
Stating that the ill-fated water sports boat that capsized along Calangute coast was overloaded with passengers, the Captain of Ports (CoP) has decided to write to the government not to renew the licence of the vessel, pending police investigation.
The CoP said that the 8.5-metre-long boat was overloaded well beyond its capacity of 10 passengers and that it also lacked life vests for children.
Captain Octavio Rodrigues told The Goan that it has suspended passenger boat licence for alleged negligence and the operator is directed to suspend the operations of the vessel.
Rodrigues ruled out structural damage as the cause of the accident and said that operator error and overloading led to the accident. The vessel was carrying 25 passengers as against its limit of 10.
“I will be writing to the government not to issue licences to the operators till the police investigation is complete. The government will take the call,” he said.
The CoP chief said it has no role in the operations of these vessels and it is for coastal police and the tourism department to regulate water sports, which is a tourism activity.
“The activity is governed under Water Sports Policy and hence it is the duty of the tourism department to regulate the activity,” Rodrigues said.
He informed that a letter has been communicated to the Association of Water Sports Operators directing to ensure that all the water sports operators under its ambit follow all the conditions laid down in the policy and permits, including no overloading, no overcharging, safety measures and queue systems are maintained.
The incident killed Suryakant Pophalkar, 45, while four others are undergoing treatment at GMC. A family from Khed was on a boat that capsized.
The boat, made of fibre-reinforced polymer, had a 25-horsepower outboard engine and a passenger capacity of 10, aside from two crew members.
