SAINT LUCIA POLICY ANALYSIS · 13–14 OCTOBER 2026

What was said, and what it establishes

242 source-linked entries across six supplied transcript parts. This readable edition works without JavaScript. Use your browser’s Find command to search; the interactive register adds day, witness and topic filters.

Latest sitting first. The 187 Day 1 entries retain their historical wording; separate follow-up notes link later testimony. Recording offsets are source-relative; Day 1 Parts II and III have editorial passage IDs rather than timecodes. Coverage ends with Day 2, not with completion of the inquiry.

D2P1-C01 · DAY 2 · PART I · identity clarification

Romeon Williams

The second witness identifies himself as Romeon Williams; the surname ending S is explicitly confirmed.

Analytical paraphrase of the supplied record

Exact automated-source excerpt

That's William. with an S or without? >> With a with an S. >> With an S. >> Could you state your Can you speak into the mic, please? >> Could you state your name, your address, and your occupation? >> My name is Romeon Williams. I'm from Soufriere and I'm a kitchen steward at Sugar Beach. >> Where you from? Was that Jack? Soufriere. And what job do you have at Trigger Beach? >> Kitchen Stewart.

Day 2, Part I · D2P1-P0105 (01:29:09), D2P1-P0106 (01:30:40)

The second witness identifies himself as Romeon Williams; the surname ending S is explicitly confirmed.

Rivier describes illuminated red and green lights at the bow; Williams recalls two colors already illuminated as the boat came to collect them at Pigeon Island.

Rivier was looking at stars; Williams had his head down in prayer; neither saw Ocean Angel approaching.

Both passengers report no safety briefing; Williams says no life jacket was offered on boarding.

Williams heard Pascal tell Tyson to take it easy; he says speed reduced immediately and stayed reduced until collision.

Both support Taylor requesting the jacket for Romeon; Williams says Pascal fetched it and Taylor helped fit it after boat movement stopped.

Both witnesses say Tyson swam to them and helped them reach an Ocean Angel fragment.

Romeon called Taylor's father from the fragment and signaled an approaching rescuer with his phone light; Taylor also describes Dylan signaling.

Both witnesses describe a very slow approach by the rescuer; nickname provisionally Kafu/Cafu, formal name and boat unresolved.

Final clarified accounts from both passengers place Dylan and Tyson on the Ocean Angel fragment as the first rescue load left.

Taylor says Z/Miss Nestor, unsure of given name, was retrieved unresponsive and taken ashore with her; Elias Day1 recalls Debbie on his rescue boat.

Taylor and Romeon say they went by pickup from Canaries to Soufriere, later to St Jude; Romeon expressly says he had no injuries.

Both passengers place outbound departure near 4:30 rather than Tyson's about 3; Taylor estimates about 35 minutes return travel to impact, shorter than Pascal's estimates.

Passengers place Mavado at the front but cannot establish his assigned duty; Taylor says she was not paying attention to his vigilance.

Commission lacks both witnesses' police statements; Williams says his was typed, read back and not signed.

A questioner uses a 14–15 nautical mile route estimate and a 45-minute journey to suggest at least 30 knots. SLPA’s conditional arithmetic gives about 18.7–20 knots for those inputs; the witness had earlier estimated 45–60 minutes.

Jean Pierre Ralph Edward says he joined the southbound return journey after staying in Rodney Bay, attending Remedy and accompanying a friend he calls Wabi/Wabby. He did not travel north on Cazorla Jr. He describes himself as a passenger on this trip.

Edward first says he sat on starboard, then reverses port/starboard light colours. After a commissioner explains red-port/green-starboard, he agrees he sat on the red/port side. Later he again says right-hand side.

He initially identifies Windjammer as the stop for a life jacket, then corrects himself to a place transcribed as an slurry / on slurry, contextually likely Anse La Raye, and says they did not stop at Windjammer.

He says he saw neither the other vessel nor its lights before impact and heard no warning. He describes being thrown into the sea.

Edward says he saw Taylor and her partner asking for help, directed Tyson toward them, and saw Tyson swim to help. His police statement, read aloud, says Tyson saved them.

Edward’s oral evidence identifies only Taylor’s partner as wearing a life jacket. A commissioner reads his police statement as saying Taylor’s husband and about two others wore them. He attributes the earlier discrepancy to not remembering everything and maintains the one-wearer account.

Edward says his own experience suggests close proximity to navigation lights can impair seeing ahead. He says Mavado told him he saw nothing approaching; Edward then supplies glare as his own explanation and confirms Mavado did not tell him that.

A commissioner challenges whether moving the damaged boat toward shore put property before people. Edward responds that people were still aboard, first gives inconsistent yes/no responses to claims the owner and bow passenger failed, and the chair intervenes before the exchange moves on.

The witness introduced as Janelle/General Butcher, also acknowledging Mavado, says he joined the return trip as a passenger, sat at the bow and was not the lookout. Edward and Chris identify him as lookout; Chris eventually explains that inference rests on seat position.

He says he knows Tyson and saw him aboard but cannot recall him driving. His police statement is read as saying he noticed Tyson driving.

Butcher repeatedly says a girl received and wore the jacket. Later he explains that after handing it over he resumed facing forward, did not watch who wore it, and had assumed it was for the girl.

He recalls red and green lights, cannot confirm a white light, reports seeing no approaching boat, wake or lights, and says he was suddenly in the water.

He initially says there was a pre-departure briefing, but says he arrived as the captain was talking to people and cannot explain its content.

He says Dwight asked Tyson once to take it easy, Tyson reduced speed immediately, and nobody else complained. He describes fast but not full speed and says he personally felt safe.

He says he saw red, green and bright white lights aboard their boat, on at departure and throughout the journey. He saw no other vessel lights.

He says he remained aboard with the others on his seat and the captain, heard a crash followed by a rough engine sound, and Tyson then stopped the engine. He heard cries for help to the right, not ahead, but cannot locate them precisely.

He recalls no warning, no last-second slowing or course change, no approaching craft, and no observed distraction. He says no music was playing and he did not observe VHF use.

Chris first names Butcher as lookout, briefly agrees when challenged that this could be incorrect, later insists there was a lookout, and finally confirms to the chair that he inferred the role because Butcher sat at the bow.

He says boat travel to shows can return around 2 a.m., estimates around five such trips without safety briefings, and says jacket use was sparse. He earlier describes some safety communication on previous Cazorla journeys, so trip scope needs care.

Lester is introduced as the final Day 2 witness and a Cazorla Jr. passenger. He says he gave police a statement on 19 July concerning the 18 July collision. His surname is variously rendered Ja, Jean, John and J in the automated text.

Lester says no safety briefing was given on either leg, and nobody was wearing or carrying a lifejacket at departure. He then describes Taylor asking for one for her boyfriend: Mavado supplied it from the bow to Mango, who passed it to Taylor, who fitted it on the boyfriend.

He repeatedly says he saw no approaching boat or lights and first became aware of the incident through a loud impact. He could see shore lights, hotel lights and a parked yacht light, distinguishing those from the approaching craft.

He identifies himself, Dwight/Mango, Nyal/Niall and Mavado as still aboard Cazorla Jr. He says four people were already in the water and Tyson jumped in to help. The examiner summarizes five in the water including Tyson; Lester corrects any implication that Tyson was thrown.

Lester describes a damaged, unstable engine/control arrangement; Mango attempted to get toward shore and Mavado tried to hold the engine steady. The boat could not maintain a straight course. He nonetheless accepts some movement before sinking.

He says he opened a square hatch at the bow, took out lifejackets, threw them into the flooding boat/water, grabbed a jacket and entered the water to seek help. He says the boat did not sink immediately at impact and associates the final sinking with an attempt to add engine power.

An examiner says the recovered vessel's severe damage meant there was no hatch left to open and calls Lester's statement incorrect. Lester maintains a bow cover was present when he retrieved jackets and raises possible subsequent damage or salvage effects.

When asked how far from impact the vessel sank, Lester first offers approximately 300 feet, then clarifies that as shore-to-impact distance; he estimates 30–40 feet from impact to sinking. Later questioning produces a much less clear 10 feet/5 feet exchange.

He describes the return as dark, not raining and a little choppy on the surface rather than large rolling seas. He estimates 1,500 RPM and calls the speed normal/easy.

He recalls no flare or siren immediately after impact and says he had no cellphone. At Ti Kaye he saw another person with a phone but did not know whom that person called.

He says he lacks a captain's licence and SLASPA training, knows red/green lights but not the navigation rules, and reports no personal contact or interception by SLASPA, marine police, Soufrière police or SMMA rangers during the operations he described.

An intervention corrects an examiner who labels the person at the bow the lookout. Later, Lester denies having said Mavado was the lookout and says only that he normally sat at the front; he does not know whether anyone appointed him.

The chair closes public sittings for that week and provisionally adjourns to Wednesday 21 October at 10 a.m., subject to confirmation with the Parliament office; witnesses may be recalled.

Collision occurred on night of Saturday 18 July 2026 at Anse Cochon; four deaths, three passengers and one crew; one boat destroyed and the other sank.

Commission appointed 1 September; oaths taken 8 September; three prior in-camera meetings.

Four commissioners include chair Justice Mario Michel, ACP Luke [De Freitas ASR], retired marine superintendent Mr Frederick, maritime consultant [name garbled]; secretary Lenita Joseph and counsel [name garbled].

Mandate includes incident circumstances, maritime legislation reform, SOP/protocol review and recommendations.

Two registered vessels named as Ocean Angel and Kazola JR with registration numbers read aloud.

Four deceased described as two young men and two young women.

Separate criminal charges concern alleged trespass on anchored yacht and grievous harm to its owner.

Officer from Marine Intelligence and Investigations Unit affirmed as investigator.

Pages 2 and 4 of Pascal statement missing from police copy; officer attributes to copying and confusion over numbering.

Complete four-page Pascal statement located in SLASPA director report and authenticated by investigator.

Corporal 256 Stannis and Acting Corporal 407 Johnson statements outstanding; other previously missing police statements received.

Initial Elias Nicholas statement attempt prevented by injuries; no subsequent attempt by hearing morning.

Requests marine-unit movement diary and government vessel logs; thinks three response vessels used on separate occasions.

Police file expected to be completed in two weeks; logs obtainable in a few days.

Statements from Kazula JR passengers Taylor Rivier and Rome William recorded 29 July; signed copies reportedly ready but uncollected.

Scenes-of-crime report expected within two-week period; investigator will return for substantive evidence.

Officer saw SLASPA preliminary report, not final report; says agencies normally conduct maritime investigation jointly.

SLASPA surveyors Peter Joseph and Wilbur [Etienne/ATN] visited scene with investigator; requested statements outstanding.

Fisheries not approached because boats registered under Maritime Affairs; MRCC contact outside his purview.

Police Marine/RSS/MRCC SOPs, 18–23 July movement diary, ship logs and boarding forms requested from police Commissioner office were due 7 October and not received.

Adopts 24 July police statement without correction.

Tyrone initially drove moderately; Dylan said Tyrone could not push the boat and took over, driving fast.

Sat second bench forward of stern captain; two beside her, three behind, two ahead.

Requested life jacket because unable to swim; captain reassured she was safe with him; no pre-impact life jacket.

Saw nobody wearing life jacket; could not recall whether stored life jackets were aboard.

No safety briefing; precise departure time not recalled.

Boat was white and red; she saw no navigation lights as it approached dock.

Maintains she saw no navigation lights during voyage up to before collision.

Prior rain, cloudy/dark, sea not calm; bow rose and blocked view; felt bouncing.

Last pre-water memory is life-jacket conversation; cannot describe impact; remembers straight course, not zigzagging.

Southbound boat passed without stopping; prompted separation estimate 15–20 m; later rescue felt hours but others said minutes.

Later craft responded to survivor phone light; rescuer recognised as friend from Baron Drive.