Expert audit team set up to review safety, compliance standards for marine vessels – Pres Ali

…as scaled-down MV Barima recovery operation continues

Two weeks after the MV Barima tragedy, President Dr Irfaan Ali has established an audit team to undertake a comprehensive review of the safety and compliance standards governing marine vessels operating in Guyana.
In a statement on Friday, the head of state explained that this move is part of the Government’s continuing response measures to strengthen maritime safety and prevent future tragedies.
The audit team will comprise former Director-General of the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD), Dr Ivor English; Colonel Julius Skeete of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF); and Marine Officer and Surveyor of Ships Captain Joseph Lewis.
According to Ali, they all bring a wealth of technical expertise, practical experience and knowledge in marine administration, maritime operations and the inspection and surveying of ships.

“The team will examine compliance with applicable maritime safety requirements and make recommendations to strengthen oversight, improve enforcement and ensure that our vessels, operators and regulatory systems meet the highest practicable standards of safety and accountability,” the President noted.
The MV Barima departed the Georgetown stelling at about 15:00h on Saturday, July 18, on its scheduled voyage to Port Kaituma, Region One (Barima-Waini), carrying 179 persons, including 18 crew members and cargo.
According to officials, the vessel encountered rough sea conditions off the Essequibo Coast near the mouth of the Pomeroon River, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), late that night. Survivors have recalled that the ferry began tilting to one side before capsizing, throwing passengers into the water in less than a minute. A distress signal transmitted at approximately 23:01h was received by aviation authorities, triggering a large-scale multi-agency emergency response that still continues and has since evolved.
While at least 76 persons survived the horrific boat accident, 73 have been confirmed dead, and another 30 are still missing. Of the bodies recovered, five remain unidentified.

Scaled down
On Friday, the Guyana Government said that the coordinated search and recovery operations remain ongoing, with no new developments.
Prime Minister (PM) Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips, who is leading the national response operation, subsequently told the Guyana Times on Friday that the 18 assets, both sea and air, previously deployed have been reduced. However, he noted that the surveillance activities still continue.
“We still have boats out there patrolling the area, and we have aircraft flying over from time to time. But the assets have been scaled down,” PM Phillips stated.
At a press conference earlier this week, the PM had indicated that the diving operations were suspended.
According to Phillips during a telephone interview with this newspaper, the team of divers from the French Guiana Army, along with those from the Brazilian Navy and the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard, which had deployed maritime assets and personnel to support the local operations, have since departed Guyana.
“They already concluded their work [here] and went home… So, no diving is taking place now. We already identified the wreck, and that location is marked. So, anytime we get to go in the area, we don’t have to search. We know the location,” the PM indicated to this publication.
Since arriving in Guyana on Monday, July 20, the team of French divers has executed approximately 15 diving operations to the sunken ferry, which is lying on the seabed some nine miles off the Essequibo Coast. They have reported that the weather and the environmental conditions are making it dangerous for them to get into the ferry.
Initially, there were efforts to right the vessel into a floating position and get it closer to shore in order to gain better access inside, but those attempts to reposition the ship were futile.
PM Phillips had previously explained that as the days go by, the vessel is “sinking deeper and deeper into the mud”, making recovery efforts more difficult.

Engagements ongoing
However, with at least 30 people still unaccounted for, the Guyanese Government is contemplating whether to salvage the sunken vessel or preserve the site as a memorial – a decision it says that will have to be guided by the wishes of the families of those missing persons.
The PM said on Friday that those engagements with the grieving families are ongoing.
In fact, only this week President Dr Irfaan Ali travelled to Mabaruma on Tuesday to meet one-on-one with survivors and families of the victims from this tragedy. A similar engagement was held in Georgetown the following day.
The Head of State assured that the Government will remain closely engaged with every family impacted by this tragedy, ensuring they receive the care, support, and assistance they need – not only in the immediate aftermath but throughout their journey toward healing and recovery.
Already, a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) has been established to probe the deadly boat accident, and the members – Chairman Justice Godfrey Phillip Smith of Belize and four Commissioners: Captain Hamada Fouda, Attorney-at-Law Nyree Dawn Alfonso, Dr Andrzej Jasionowski of Poland, and Rear Admiral (Retired) Hayden Pritchard – were sworn in on Thursday.
The Commission is preparing to conduct its independent investigation into the circumstances of the incident and present its findings, observations and recommendations upon completion of its work.
The Guyana Government has formally launched the HEART Initiative – Hope, Empathy, Aid, Resilience and Trust – a national framework to provide sustained support to the survivors and bereaved families of the MV Barima tragedy through humanitarian assistance, psychosocial and trauma counselling, social services, spiritual guidance and other forms of support for those affected. This assistance is not intended as compensation but as an expression of the nation’s enduring commitment to stand beside survivors and bereaved families for as long as necessary.