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Brock MacKenzie and his partner, Kerri Wolanski, were visiting the caves of Los Haitises National Park on April 15 when they noticed water seeping into their boat.
Brock MacKenzie didn’t understand what was happening, but he quickly realized the seriousness of the situation, because the boat was about 25 minutes from shore at the time.
“I looked at (Kerri) and wondered, ‘How does she get wet?’ I couldn’t understand where the water was coming from,” MacKenzie said in an interview with CTV News.
“I looked around and the boat was sinking.”
– Brock MacKenzie
He said there were about 30 other people on the boat at the time, including at least one child and a few elderly people.
Mr MacKenzie pointed out that most passengers were not wearing life jackets and that crew members were “handing out rum” as the boat took on water.
“The craziest part of this trip isn’t the fact that the boat took on water,” MacKenzie said. “It was that we left and no one had a life jacket, there was no security, no one talked about safety on the boat or what would happen if [le bateau coulait].»
A blow
The boat — according to its operator Grupo Pinero — received a blow to its hull on the starboard side, apparently caused by a floating tree trunk.
In a statement sent to CTV News, the company mentioned that the captain had followed “all protocols, starting with the request for rescue service, the inspection of the vessel and the respect of the rules by all those on board “.
The company added that after inspecting the boat, the captain decided to take it to Cayo Levantado, a neighboring island, while a rescue boat was on its way to bring the passengers back to shore.
“As soon as the boat captain realized the fault, he requested help and followed all protocols.”
– Pinero Group Communiqué
The crew “did nothing or explained anything”
According to Grupo Pinero, protocols require all passengers to wear life jackets at all times. Yet Mr. MacKenzie reported that no one wore a life jacket during the excursion. He added that during the 40 minutes it took for the rescue boat to arrive and transfer the passengers safely, the crew also “did nothing” to equip the passengers with life jackets.
“We made sure they all had life jackets on,” he said of the children and elderly people on board. “The crew? I have no idea where they were.”
No one was injured in the incident and the passengers on board the boat all eventually returned to shore safely.
MacKenzie said Grupo Pinero asked the passengers to sign legal documents about what happened. The document, an image of which was provided to CTV News, asked passengers to agree that there had been a “minor inconvenience” with the boat that was “immediately corrected” by the company.
According to Mr. MacKenzie, no one signed the document. In the CTV News interview, he clarified that the excursion was purchased through an Air Transat representative
In a statement, Air Transat said it had contacted all affected customers since the incident to offer them a refund for the excursion, “and to personally ensure that the resolution of this matter satisfies them.”
Following the incident, Mr. MacKenzie considered retaining a lawyer. He fears that the tour operator will not make the necessary changes in terms of security.
“We have to put it down to life experience or something else,” he added. “But they won’t change what they do until someone holds them accountable for the fact that what happened there was extremely dangerous.”
