MV Barima tragedy – 53 bodies recovered; 50 still missing; rescue count revised to 76

…Govt to cover for funeral, other expenses as 11 bodies given to families for burial

As search efforts continue following Saturday night’s capsizing of the MV Barima, authorities Wednesday night reported that 53 bodies have been recovered while the rescue count has been revised to 76. This update was provided by Prime Minister (PM) Mark Phillips during a press conference at his Camp Street, Georgetown office. He noted that of the bodies recovered, 26 have been positively identified by relatives, with 11 of them being repatriated to their respective communities for funeral arrangements, as requested by families.
“Many of this work is being done through the regional authorities. Wakes, funerals, all of these activities are supported financially and otherwise in keeping with the wishes of the family,” he said, noting that this includes adhering to religious rites as requested by families. “We will work right through to the end to bring closure to every family member who would have lost a loved one,” PM Phillips added. Of the bodies identified, eight are males, three are females while 15 are children (four males and 11 females). Of those that remain unidentified, three are children. The PM noted that there is enough storage space to accommodate the bodies as they are being recovered, with four refrigerated containers being used to bolster the capacities of the nearby hospitals. The containers are at the Suddie Regional Hospital. “The plan is, as we recover bodies, we identify, we do the postmortem, and we hand over as early as possible to the families for the funeral arrangement. So that storage capacity…is capable of holding the bodies in the interim as we move to the next stage which is handing over the bodies to the families,” he explained.

No new rescues
Meanwhile, the Government had earlier in the day clarified via a statement that the increase of rescued persons does not reflect any new rescues. It explained that the adjustment mainly resulted from information being received from several different sources. “As that information came in it was carefully reviewed and verified it to eliminate any duplication and provide a more accurate account of the number of persons rescued,” the statement noted.

Wreckage search
During the press conference, PM Phillips explained that divers conducted a search of the wreckage underwater and it was determined that “unfortunately, after searching the wreckage, nobody’s alive there”. However, he disclosed that one body was identified but the divers were unable to recover it as of 18:00hrs Wednesday. “This is an ongoing exercise, more divers will go down…with more equipment and it is our hope that we reach to a point where we can safely extract…the body from the vessel,” PM Phillips noted. Upon the conclusion of the search and rescue/recovery operation, PM Phillips noted that authorities will determine whether to retrieve the vessel from the seabed.
Not overloaded, no engine problem
While noting that the official inquiry will determine all the circumstance surrounding this tragedy, Director General of the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD), Captain Stephen Thomas, informed the press conference that based on his knowledge, the vessel was not overloaded. He explained that the ferry has a capacity to carry some 126 tonnes of cargo along with some 390 passengers. “The capacity can vary if you have a full load of cargo…so if you have less passengers, you can carry more weight,” the MARAD Director General explained. Furthermore, he explained that the ferry has a load line and upon departure from Georgetown, that line was “barely submerged”.
This, Captain Thomas noted, “doesn’t indicate overloading because load lines are catered for when you go out to sea”. He explained that due to the density in the fresh water, the load line can be submerged, “so when it goes in sea, it floats higher”.

Captain Thomas further explained that once the ferry is properly maintained, its weight capacity is not affected. In fact, he highlighted that, “in addition to that, the age of the vessel, they were using much thicker steel. Now, you use thinner steel but double the strength of the older steel, so in other words, the ships can carry more cargo, because they’re lighter because of the improvement to the quality of steel”.
Regarding whether the weight on the MV Barima was properly distributed, the MARAD head said the investigation would have to determine that. Meanwhile, officials at the head table, including Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill, noted that they were not aware of any engine troubles on the vessel at the time of departure. In fact, Minister Edghill posited that “there was no reported engine troubles from the crew when the boat came in and when the boat left, there was no reported engine troubles”.

Region One route
In addition to the MV Barima, the Georgetown to Region One (Barima-Waini) route is being serviced by the MV Kimbia, another older vessel which has been refurbished. The MV Ma Lisha was acquired in 2023 to ply the route, specifically making stops at Morawhanna and Kumaka. Minister Edghill noted that “we have just completed the two stellings at Morawhanna and at the new site at Kumaka, which is to be commissioned”. The MV Kalliopi N, which arrived this year, will also be put into operation soon to ply the Georgetown to Region One route. “This is just an unfortunate time that the Barima went down before we could get it replaced,” Edghill noted. The MV Barima departed the Georgetown stelling at about 15:00h on Saturday 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 late that night. Survivors have recalled that the ferry began listing to one side before capsizing, throwing passengers into the water.
A distress signal transmitted at approximately 23:01h was received by aviation authorities, triggering a large-scale response involving the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Coast Guard and Air Corps, MARAD, civilian vessels and local fishermen. Addressing concerns raised in the aftermath of the disaster, blood samples were taken from the captain and crew members for testing. Authorities released the results showing positive tests for cannabis and subsequently arrested the captain and two crew members. Subsequently, Government in its initial probe on the issue uncovered that more people were aboard the vessel than had been recorded on the original passenger manifest. That information along with the manifest were immediately made public.
The President has since announced that a separate investigation will be conducted to determine the circumstances that led to the MV Barima capsizing. The investigation is expected to examine all relevant factors before any conclusions are reached.