By VANESSA C. ROLLE Guardian Staff Reporter

As the nation grieves, a heavy burden rests on the shoulders of the captain of the Sea Hauler, who had charge of nearly 200 lives on Saturday night.

Eighteen-year marine veteran Captain Allan Russell said one of his nine crewmen was holding the wheel at the time of the accident and he was in the toilet.

In a space of two minutes, the accident occurred.

"As I ran out of the bathroom, I said that there ain't no reefs in the middle of this ocean. It is impossible. So I asked him what he saw and he said nothing. And I looked at the radar screen before I even moved to go to the bathroom and I didn't see anything. My radar was in working condition and I still didn't see that boat," Captain Russell said.

He broke down in tears and was choked for words when The Guardian interviewed him Monday beside the vessel on which four people lost their lives, and 25 others were injured.

In need of comfort himself, Captain Russell extended his sympathy to the families of all affected by the accident.

"It was a very bad scene... very, very, very bad. It was very, very bad," said Captain Russell, shaking his head, looking to the ground as he tried to conceal his tears.

" I felt like those people were my sons and daughters. That's how close I felt to them. It was a very bad scene. I could just picture it. When I went down there and saw those people... ohhhh... bad scene. I will remember this to my grave."

Aug. 2, 2003, will go down in Bahamian history as the day of one of the nation's most gruesome tragedies, when, en route to Nassau from Cat Island, a barge, the United Star, broadsided the Sea Hauler, which had been on the seas for six hours en route to Smith's Bay, Cat Island.

Upon impact some eight miles west of Wemyss Bight, Eleuthera, and 20 miles east of Highbourne Cay in The Exumas, the crane aboard the Sea Hauler dislodged, crushing several passengers on deck, killing four of them, including a 14-year-old boy and two sisters.

When asked whether it was possible the accident could have been avoided, Captain Russell responded:

"From my experience, if you see an object, you can deal with it by protecting and shunning yourself from it, but if you haven't seen the object, it is difficult to shun something that you can't see.

"It was a chaos. A lot of people panicked but I was able to calm them down as much as possible and there were some men who were experienced and they assisted me very, very well in keeping them calm. Trust me, they reacted very good because it was a very, very bad scene," said Captain Russell, fighting back tears. He said that one of his daughters sustained serious head injuries.

He said shortly after the accident, he asked the Sea Hauler's engineer to check the ship's engine room and compartment to see if they were taking on water.

"He reported that down there was in good shape and we didn't have to worry about taking on water. Then I immediately sent an SOS out to whoever was in the surrounding boats in the area and the Sherice M and the Moxey responded to me immediately."

The Moxey, he said, made the contact to Bahamas Air Sea Rescue Association (BASRA) for him. BASRA then notified the coast guard.

He said that he was unsure whether the United Star's crew realized that they had hit his vessel and did not stop after the impact.

The Sherice M radioed the United Star and told them that they had hit the Sea Hauler and to come back and assist the people on board.

"She did come back. By that time, BASRA and the coast guard made some contacts with me and advised me to go alongside and tie up ship to ship until they arrived. They said that it would be between an hour and an hour and a half before they could get to us, which they did. We had already transferred all the capable passengers from the Sea Hauler on to the deck of the United Star," Captain Russell said.

"The ones who were not able to move remained on board the Sea Hauler. Then I waited until the authorities reach, which was the coast guard. They conducted first aid on the people and took over the whole operation from there."

"When I left Potter's Cay, the count was 191 people, and ya know, our people have a very bad way of jumping on these boats after the count has been scored. We come with extra people at the time of the accident when we were trying to find out if any went overboard," he said.

He said that it was hard to to determine whether anybody went overboard.

He said that in his 18 years of mailboat service in The Bahamas, he has always tried to be fair and honest with everybody.

"I used my expertise to assist in any and every which way. There is going to be good talks and there are going to be bad talks. But that is why I put my trust in God. I hope that this will be a great experience for all the other captains and all the other seamen, that when we are on that open sea, to be more concerned about the other people as well, and not just themselves. An incident like that is the first that I've ever heard of in the history of this country," he said.

"I am still in shock from this incident. My deepest regret to this day is that those people got hurt. I always believe that God is in control. It could have been worse. The whole ship could have gone down, but thank God we didn't lose a lot of people. Although in losing four people it's still very, very sad, but it could have been everybody. And that could have been a real disaster to families in this country."

Caption:MAILBOAT ACCIDENT – The mailboats United Star and Sea Hauler pictured 20 miles off Highbourne Cay where a collision early Saturday killed four on board and injured 25, while en route to Cat Island for the annual homecoming.

DISTRAUGHT CAPTAIN – Captain Allan Russell of the Sea Hauler mourns the loss of life during a collision at sea Saturday morning.

Staff Photo by Donald Knowles

Posted Tuesday 5 August, 2003