A sugar-laden ship Thursday night slammed into the Berbice River Bridge, forcing authorities to close off the major link between East and West Berbice.
Authorities hope that the bridge could be reopened before if not around 1 AM Friday.
Tugs from the German-owned bauxite transshipment company, Oldendorff, were being deployed to remove the 700-tonne MV Joanna Key, according to Public Works Minister, Robeson Benn.
Well-placed sources said the Guyanese-owned ship is resting on one of the pontoons that keeps the Berbice Bridge afloat. The incident occurred on the southern side of the bridge.
Demerara Waves Online News (www.demwaves.com) was told that some time after 9 AM, the MV Joanna Key sailed up on the pontoon after the captain allegedly fell asleep. The vessel had earlier collected a consignment of sugar from the Blairmont Sugar factory.
He should have anchored some distance away from the bridge to await high tide around 1 AM Friday to exit.
Vehicles that were on the bridge at the time of the incident were allowed to cross after which the facility was closed to further traffic until the cargo vessel is removed.
An investigation into the incident would be conducted shortly.
