Lime Cay boat captain fined a total of $400

Fifty-seven-year-old Herbert Dowie, the captain of the boat that capsized in December off the coast of Port Royal killing two women, has been fined a total of $400.

Dowie pleaded guilty yesterday to four charges under the Harbours Act of 1971.

He pleaded guilty to three counts of breaching the Harbour Rules and one count of operating an unlicensed vessel.

The maximum fine of $100 was imposed on each count.

Parish Judge Vaughn Smith, who imposed the fine in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court, remarked that he was bound by the legislation which called for a maximum fine of $100.

When Dowie appeared in court his lawyer Hensley Williams said given the age of the legislation it would be an unnecessary waste of judicial time to proceed with the matter and asked that his client be allowed to enter a plea.

The two women who drowned during the mishap are 35-year-old Janelle  Decasseres, of Summit Heights, St Andrew and 45-year-old Edith Petscha of Evergreen Drive in Hatfield, Manchester.

Reports are that the two women were among a group of 12 persons who were being transported to Lime Cay when the vessel in which they were travelling encountered difficulties and capsized.

Following investigations, Dowie was charged as the vessel, the F/V Geraldine, was not licensed at the time to carry passengers.

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