MV Barima tragedy: Online counselling platform for families to launch this week

Human Services and Social Security Ministry will this week launch EMBRACE, a national online counselling platform, as part of an expanded, long-term psychosocial support effort for families affected by the MV Barima tragedy.
Minister Dr Vindhya Persaud made the announcement during an interview on the Starting Point podcast on Sunday.
Persaud said EMBRACE will connect affected persons with counsellors and specialists, including Guyanese diaspora volunteers, through confidential audio and video sessions.
She further explained that the platform was tested last week.
It is expected to go live this week, beginning with survivors and families of the MV Barima disaster before expanding further.
“It’s going to be a system where persons can request a time. They will see the list that is available, their specialities, and they can have confidential therapy and counselling from any one of these persons,” the minister is quoted as saying in a DPI report.
She revealed that the ministry has also formally requested support from the Red Cross and the United Nations, among other agencies. The UN Resident Representative’s Office and the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) already responded.
On financial support, Persaud said assistance for families who lost a sole breadwinner, covering food, transportation, and other immediate needs, is being assessed case by case, and is separate from compensation.
“If it’s a breadwinner, we need to make sure they have food support, we need to make sure the children are taken care of, we need to make sure that the parents have that kind of support. The Office of the First Lady will be directly managing everything to do with children and their parents.
The breadwinner-support assistance falls under the HEART initiative, President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali’s broad framework for tragedy response launched last month.
Persaud acknowledged that families still awaiting the recovery of loved ones face a distinct and ongoing form of grief and appealed for public empathy amid criticism of the government’s response, cautioning against the exploitation of families’ grief.
The minister also said the private sector is welcome to support the government’s efforts to assist those affected by the tragedy.
In July, almost two weeks after MV Barima went underwater offshore Guyana, claiming 73 lives, with another 30 persons still missing, three individuals, including the Captain of the vessel, were charged with multiple counts of murder.
Charged were 40-year-old Kevin Price, also called “KP”, the boat Captain of Melanie Damishana, East Coast Demerara (ECD); Rondell Dwayne Roberts, 42, Chief Mate of Grove Public Road, East Bank Demerara (EBD); and Delon Granderson, 33, Goods superintendent of Fellowship, West Coast Demerara (WBD).
The charges were instituted following recommendations from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to charge the three employees attached to the Transport and Harbour Department (T&HD) with the offence of murder in relation to the tragic deaths of passengers who were on board the MV Barima.
The trio appeared before Chief Magistrate Judy Latchman at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts, where murder charges were read to them and they were remanded to prison.
Police stated that on July 18, 2026 at 9.3 nautical miles and a bearing of 040° off the Essequibo Coast, the three men murdered 72 persons.
They were not required to plead to the indictable charges and were remanded to prison. The case was transferred to the Charity Magistrate’s Court where it was called earlier this month and was adjourned to September 7.
On July 18, the MV Barima departed the Georgetown stelling at about 15:00h on its scheduled voyage to Port Kaituma, North West District, 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 and capsized.
A distress signal transmitted at approximately 23:01h was received by aviation authorities, triggering a large-scale multi-agency emergency response that continues. However, following the incident, the Captain and a crew member tested positive for cannabis use and were subsequently arrested. Later, the goods Superintendent was arrested.
Subsequently, in its initial probe, it was uncovered that more people were aboard the vessel than had been recorded on the original passenger manifest.
To date, while 73 bodies were pulled from the wreckage, five remain unidentified. As such, the Health Ministry urged relatives to visit the Suddie Mortuary to assist in identifying the remaining victims.
Meanwhile, President Dr Irfaan Ali has named a high-level five-member panel to lead a Commission of Inquiry (CoI).
The appointment of this distinguished team of regional and international legal and maritime experts was made in keeping with an earlier commitment by the Guyanese Head of State for an independent probe into the horrific ferry accident.