By Mark DaCosta- A routine river crossing ended in tragedy on Friday, 8 August 2025, when two rivercraft collided on the Aruka River in Region One (Barima-Waini), leaving 20-year-old farmer Ken Wells dead and his sister, Loraine Wells, fighting for her life in hospital. Authorities say a larger, high‑powered wooden launch struck a much smaller community boat in heavy rain; the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) has opened an inquiry.
Eyewitnesses and official summaries indicate that the accident occurred mid‑afternoon as a high‑powered wooden launch, driven by a 20‑year‑old skipper identified as Tirisa Allen, was making its way from the Kumaka waterfront towards the Imbitero area. Severe showers had reduced visibility across the river, and about five minutes steaming time from the departure point the launch struck a modest 15‑horsepower craft — locally referred to as a balahoo — which was carrying seven people and under the command of Andrea Albert. Responders removed the occupants from the water and transported them to the Mabaruma hospital, where Ken Wells, a young farmer from Barima River, was declared dead on arrival. His sister remains in critical condition.
The balahoo is a familiar sight on our nation’s inland waterways: a small, wooden skiff often fitted with a low‑powered outboard motor and used for short hops between riverine communities. Lightweight and economical, these vessels are vital to daily life in the hinterland but are considerably more vulnerable in adverse conditions or when sharing channels with larger, faster launches. A vessel with a 150‑horsepower engine can generate strong wakes and requires greater stopping distance and visibility to manoeuvre safely; when weather reduces sightlines, the margin for error narrows dramatically.
Preliminary accounts point to rainfall and reduced visibility as contributing factors. Sources say the larger boat had been approximately 15 metres from the balahoo when the smaller craft was sighted but that collision avoidance attempts proved unsuccessful. The larger craft’s operator later assisted with rescue efforts, and all persons aboard the smaller boat were recovered. The Municipal hospital logged the arrival time of the injured and the subsequent confirmation of the fatality in the mid‑afternoon period. The Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) has announced an investigation into the circumstances and has appealed to skippers to adhere strictly to collision regulations and navigational best practice.
Local leaders and riverine users have long argued for stepped‑up measures: obligatory buoyancy aids for every passenger, clearer licensing and inspection regimes for high‑power engines, mandatory training and certification for skippers, and better weather advisory systems for small ports. MARAD’s probe will need to consider whether the vessels involved were compliant with existing safety standards, if the larger craft was operating at an unsafe speed for the conditions, and whether the smaller balahoo was seaworthy for the crossing it undertook.
Questions now surround not only the immediate cause but the larger systems that allowed two very different boats to share the same stretch of river in hazardous weather. As investigators gather testimony and technical data, community members in Barima‑Waini will be watching for answers and for measures that might prevent another young life being lost on our waterways.
