PHOTO: NPA MD, Bill Tweahway
By Garmah Never Lomo, garmahlomo@gmail.com
TEMPLE OF JUSTICE, Monrovia- The National Port Authority Managing Director, Bill Tearaway’s hands were in the Niko Ivanka vessel disaster, but appeared to have known nothing about the grounded boat sailing out of the Pier of the Freeport of Monrovia on July 17,202, testimonies by the sunken boat agents reveal.
Mr. Tou and four others appeared in court in Monrovia today, Tuesday, September 14, 2021 and are charged with Negligent Homicide, Recklessly endangering another person and Criminal Facilitation.
According to police charge sheet, the owner of the distressed vessel Niko Ivanka defendant Alex Tou told police investigation that he is the owner of the vessel Niko Ivanka and that top executive of the Port gave the greenlight for the WAEC staffers to leave on the boat which license was suspended and the vessel was not a passenger vessel.
On July 17, 2021, Niko Ivanka sank along the Marshall coast while en route to Harper, Maryland County with some twenty-six passengers on board.
The boat, which Liberia’s Maritime Authority (LMA) boss Eugene Nagbe said was officially grounded without license and not a passenger vessel, was carrying both passengers cargo when it sank.
At the time, it was not known exactly which one of the authorities at the National Port Authority and the Maritime Authority gave the final green light for the troubled boat to leave the Freeport of Monrovia pier with passengers and cargo.
FLASHBACK: The search and rescue mission for Niko Ivanka boat disaster
Twelve persons were said to have been rescued, including staff of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), which lost six of their personnel. A number of others on board the sunken vessel are yet to be recovered.
But now, the owner of the boat, who is in court, Defendant Tou said he initially refused to carried staffers of WAEC but the managing Director of the National Port Authority Bill Tearaway intervened and instructed the director of seaport police to allow the WAEC staffs to board his vessel when the NPA has in their possession of their detention order.
In his concluding statement, the owner of the Niko Ivanka said after he received the detention order, Mr. Gono and Mr. Twe visited him at his 15th Street office on two different occasions sometimes in May and June 3,2021.
He pleaded with them to grant him three months grace period to afford him raise some cash to renew his vessel registration while his agent and human resource manager were responsible to negotiation with the other institutions NPA and NCG but his vessel detention was not because it is not sea worthy.
Mr. Tou narrated that Niko Ivanka was built, registered and commissioned in Liberia on April 19,2018 and since then, it has been operating as a cargo vessel with the Liberia Maritime Authority. He acknowledged receipt of the detention notice.
Meanwhile, the five defendants were charged with Negligent Homicide, Recklessly endangering another person and Criminal Facilitation in violation of Chapter 14.3 Chapter 14.23, Chapter 10.4 and Chapter 10.2 of the Revised penal law of the Republic of Liberia.
But the Defendants were released on bail because the crimes charged are bailable offenses.
Similar revelations by another defendant
Another defendant charged and sent to court is Zhong Qixiang, a Chinese and Captain of the distressed vessel, Niko Ivanka which the Police charge sheet says “unauthorizingly departed the Free port of Monrovia for the port of Harper, Maryland County. The occupants estimated twenty-seven, including nine crew members, eight staffs of the West African Examination Council, one police officer and other passengers on Saturday 17th of July 2021, at 06:00hrs and subsequently sunk at 13:55hrs.”
According to the Liberia Maritime Authority, the vessel Niko Ivanka was issued detention notice dated April 28, 2021.
For his part, defendant George D. McCay who is NPA Pier Superintendent and agent of the Niko Ivanka vessel, told police investigation that he is the agent of Niko Ivanka vessel since it was built and commission in 2018, and that it has been operating as a cargo vessel from Monrovia to the southeast counties.
According to him, prior to the July 17, 2021, trip, the Liberia Electricity Cooperation contacted the vessel to transport some electrical materials to the southeast, which were onboard along with nine crew members and nine staffers of WAEC.
Mr. McCay explained that even though, Niko Ivanka management resisted carrying the WAEC staff but the Managing Director of the National Port Authority (NPA) which runs the Freeport of Monrovia, Bill Tearaway intervened to allow the individuals to go and they accepted.
Defendant McCay also admitted working with the National Port Authority as a pier superintendent and said he was present at the pier on July 17,2021, at 0600hrs when the vessel Niko Ivanka departed the Port to make that fatal voyage.
McCay further informed police investigation that during the morning hours of 17th July 2021, he placed a call to Col. Logan LSP Director as a follow-up about the WAEC staffers going on board his vessel and he claimed that Col. Logan informed him that MD. Tweahway had given him (Logan) an instruction to allow the WAEC staffs to travel with the vessel.
He concluded that prior to placing the call to Col. Logan, one of the WAEC representatives he dealt with, one Barkar, asked him for the MD Tweahway’s phone number and texted one Linda’s number through whom Bakar was negotiating.
Also, another defendant in the Niko Ivanka vessel saga identified as Wesley C. G. Monroe of the NPA told police investigation that he is an employee of the NPA and is assigned with the security department as a shift commander.
According to defendant Monroe, on Friday July 16, 2021, the management of Glorious Shipping Agency, managing the Liberian assembled vessel Niko Ivanka, concluded the loading of general cargoes which were destined for the Samuel Alfred Ross port of Greenville and Harper, Maryland Counties, respectively.
The rest of the testimonies contained in the Police charge sheet below:
“The defendant further explained that during his regular routine patrol, he arrived at the Amoco gate Ii at the precise hour of 10:53am where he met nine staffs of WAEC requesting entry to board the vessel Niko Ivanka which WAEC materials for the southeast but told the staffers that their NPA procedures do not permit passengers on board cargo vessel but the nine WAEC staffs pleaded that the vessel was the only alternative vessel left for them to travel southeast, they told him that traveling by road was impossible due to the very bad road condition and by air was not possible because vthe pilot was not well. In that process they begun to display receipts of payments they had made to Niko Glorious Shipping Agency.
He concluded that based on these conditions and considering the inter-agency collaboration as well as the importance of getting the WAEC staffs and materials to the students in the southeast for the administration of the exams in time he (Wesley C.G. Monroe) used his discretion in his capacity as a shift commander to allow the WAEC staffs entry on board the vessel.
A mechanical engineer of the vessel identified as Azaan Dahi a Serian-Labornise national explained that on July 17, 2021, at about 1900hrs, they departed the Free port of Monrovia with goods and other individuals on board but the sea was calm and normal upon their arrival after Buchanan heading into deep sea where the rain stated falling very heavy and sea begin rough and waves started rising very high so it enters the Arch of the vessel.
The engineer further narrated that he told the sea men to bring two water pump machines which they used and were successful in pumping out the waters and the situation got normal and they started sailing smoothly until after two hours he advised that the sea men bring all the three water pump machines outside and they brought the three machines outside where he placed one at the back and two were placed in front of the arch on the vessel.
Defendant Dahi also told police investigation that after two hours later the rain came again which forced this time the rain depth was extremely heavy, the weather got dark and the sea began very rough, the waves begin to rise very aggressively pulling in the arch of the vessel so he and the sea men try their best to pump waters out of the vessel but the water kept pulling into the vessel with heavy force until the three machines could not make it.
So he advised everyone to put on their lives jackets each while the vessel was laying from one point to another at the same time people was crying for their lives.
He further added that he started throwing pallet into the water and later try to put air into balloon but he couldn’t because the vessel was already sinking deep from one side as a result of the wave to put the balloon over the pallet into the water and jump over it and started to rescue some people where he managed to rescue five persons including one Chinese and four Liberian and placed them on the pallet where he struggled for the whole day and night for about 22hours before they landed around the Grand Bassa County belt.
However, the investigation revealed that WAEC Liberia was not in the know of anything concerning the vessel.