00:00What happened was really, really terrible. I'm from Charlotte Villa, Seasideville.
00:04Will there be any consideration to look at the draft for small boats?
00:09Well, anything that will save lives, you know, whether you have the draft, you have the regulations, and then there's
00:15enforcement.
00:16But as I said, it is right now I am satisfied with the Marine Affairs in terms of their coverage,
00:23particularly of the party boats.
00:24Minister of Works and Infrastructure Jolene John speaking outside the Red House today about last Sunday's boating tragedy.
00:31Questioned about the investigation, Minister John instead praised the Coast Guard's rapid response, saying its quick action may have prevented
00:38an even greater loss of life.
00:40These are bodies that, well, people that unfortunately may have perished at sea.
00:45And I think the Coast Guard was in the area very quickly. They were doing their jobs and they continue
00:52to do their jobs.
00:53She also noted that the government has been actively reminding the public about the importance of marine safety, urging boaters
01:00and passengers alike to take the necessary precautions when traveling by sea.
01:05You saw what we did for the last carnival, recent carnival in Tobago, where we really went beyond the call
01:12of duty, literally, if there's anything like that,
01:14to ensure that folks understood, just to ensure they went to Tobago with licensed vessels, not with little pirogues from
01:23all the little coastline areas and so on, environment, right?
01:28So we really try our best to ensure the people's safety, internal marine safety, using the Institute of Marine Affairs.
01:36However, John stressed that people also have a responsibility for their own safety, saying passengers and boat operators must take
01:43the necessary precautions before heading out to sea.
01:47We have a lot of advisories going out and so on. But wherever we can make a further difference, but
01:52of course, there's also something called personal responsibility.
01:56You could have all the laws, all the regulations. We have to take ourselves seriously and our role seriously.
02:01Dominic Ramroop, TV6 News.
02:03Dominic Ramroop, TV6 News.
