Three years after four divers lost their lives in what became known as the Paria diving tragedy, the government has decided to award $1 million to each of their families and an additional $1 million to the lone survivor.
The payments are ex gratia.
Prime Minister Stuart Young announced the payments at a post-Cabinet media conference at White Hall earlier today.
On 25 February 2022, Kazim Ali Jnr, Yusuf Henry, Rishi Nagassar, Fyzal Kurban, and Christopher Boodram were sucked into a 36-inch pipeline from a hyperbaric chamber while working for Paria Fuel Trading Company Ltd and Land and Marine Contracting Services Ltd (LMCS). Investigators deemed the incident to have resulted from “gross and consequently criminal” negligence.
Boodram survived, but the others died.
Young acknowledged that some might see the payments as politically motivated—given the upcoming general election on 28 April—but he rejected that notion.
“I can’t change that perception of people. And I can understand the cynicism by persons who hold that point of view. I know that the facts relate that I was extremely frustrated, personally, because I’ve been asking for this to be done even before we came into 2025,” Young said.
“So, as I said, I’d just had enough. So, I went to Cabinet and said I’m no longer prepared to have these companies and their insurers frustrate the process. Let us take a decision. I know the law. It is ex gratia. That can then go into calculations of whatever damages have to come out if they continue in court, etc.”
He added: “So, I can’t avoid the timing, I can’t avoid the conversations the population and people are entitled to have. Everybody is entitled to their own view. It is not for the election. But, even me saying that, that will bring no solace and change nobody’s mind on it. The point is it is done.”
Young said he wished the decision had come sooner, stressing that Paria Fuel Trading and LMCS should have taken responsibility. However, he decided not to wait any longer for them to act.
“I can’t force the insurers, I can’t force the lawyers to do something that we all know as citizens of Trinidad and Tobago we would have liked to have been done a long time ago, which is to assist the families financially. It will never be enough to compensate them for the pain and the tragic circumstances.”
The families of the deceased only learned about the payments through the post-Cabinet media conference. When asked whether they should have been informed beforehand, Young dismissed the concern.
The families continue to pursue legal action against both Paria Fuel Trading and LMCS. Authorities have filed 15 criminal charges against Paria managers and LMCS owner Kazim Ali, while 12 Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) charges remain before the Industrial Court against both companies and their top managers.
