MV Barima tragedy: $122.3M disbursed to victims as Govt pledges long-term support

Government understands the commitment it made to supporting survivors of the MV Barima tragedy and will honour those by demonstrating that the pledge is for the long-term President Dr Irfaan Ali reaffirmed on Monday.
“The coverage; structured assistance, has been provided to more than 750 affected persons. These are children, parents, grandparents across regions one to ten. The affected persons registry; the national registry is 99% complete. The needs assessment is also 99% complete…and this is the needs assessment, immediate, medium, and long-term. As we said, the government is in this for the long-term. We understand the long-term responsibility,” the President stressed as he updated the media on the matter, at a Press conference he hosted yesterday.
He noted that the HEART (Hope, Empathy, Aid, Resilience and Trust) Initiative remains the government’s principal vehicle for delivering recovery assistance and it is undertaking those in a structure manner.
Ali underscored the permanence of the government’s commitment reiterating that the HEART initiative is designed to provide sustained relief rather than short-term interventions.
The HEART Secretariat, which brings together stakeholders from every sector of Guyanese society, is fully operational under the leadership of Lieutenant Colonel Dominic Shepard.
The president also disclosed that around $122.3M in financial aid has already been disbursed to families of deceased persons, survivors and relatives of those still missing. This support, he explained, is intended to ease immediate burdens while longer-term measures are put in place.
On housing, he said that the Housing Ministry has approved 20 families for land allocations and turnkey homes valued at approximately $73.9M. These provisions, he posited, are part of a broader effort to stabilise households that have been uprooted by the tragedy.
Apart from financial relief, the HEART Initiative has also prioritised psychosocial care. Social workers and psychologists have been assigned to affected families, with Tier 3 and Tier 4 trauma interventions now active. Ali emphasised that the government recognises the profound emotional toll of the disaster and is committed to providing professional counselling.
He said that assistance with recovery of documents lost by persons are being given and was not limited to nationals since “some non-Guyanese families” were also onboard.
“For the affected families, tier three and tier four trauma interventions are active. Support for children, including going back to school, supporting their school needs; their educational needs, recovery of documentation such as GECOM, GRA…so they are mobilizing resources,” he said.
With tenders submitted for the contract to lift the sunken vessel now opened, the President promised to get an update on the process from the respective responsible agency and update the public.
According to the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB), the companies that submitted bids are Industrial Fabrication Inc, BK International Inc, and KMS BV.
Industrial Fabrication Inc, also known as InFab, was founded in 2003 by Jerry Max Goueia and Dyland Fields, according to its website. The company proposes to salvage the ferry at a cost of $1,895,000,000.
BK International Inc, founded by Brian Tiwarie, operates across several sectors, including sea defence, civil and commercial construction, marine transportation, and aviation. The company proposes to salvage the ferry at a cost of $1,034,000,000.
KMS BV is a registered commercial ship owner and manager based in Vijfhuizen, Netherlands which is proposing to salvage the MV Barima at a cost of $2,035,100,000.