Families to determine whether Govt salvages sunken MV Barima or preserve it as memorial site – PM

With approximately 30 people still unaccounted for, the government must now decide whether to salvage the sunken MV Barima or preserve the site as a memorial.

Prime Minister Mark Phillips said the decision will be guided by the wishes of survivors and the families of those affected by the July 18 tragedy.

Speaking at a news conference today, he explained that the government will consult with those impacted before determining the vessel’s future, noting that President Dr Irfaan Ali remains in communication with families of the deceased as well as survivors.

The Prime Minister said while there are several offers to assist in the salvaging of the vessel, “whether we salvage the vessel or go with the construction of a memorial site, it has to be done in keeping with the wishes of the family.”

The ferry is lying on its side on the seabed about nine miles off the Essequibo Coast in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam). The vessel was located by local fishermen and later confirmed by authorities two days after capsizing.

Since last week, the technical teams, both local and foreign, have been trying to reposition the vessel. The aim was to get the ferry into a floating position in order to bring it closer to shore so that the divers can safely get inside with the hopes of recovering those missing persons.

This publication understands that divers managed to successfully attach cables and ropes to the sunken ferry on Wednesday. However, those closely involved in the recovery operation explained that when they tried to pull the vessel, the cables and ropes kept bursting.

To date, the rescue count remains at 76 while 73 bodies have been recovered and some 30 persons remain unaccounted for. Of the bodies recovered, five remain unidentified.

Since they arrived in Guyana on Monday, July 20, the team from the French Guiana Army has executed approximately 15 diving operations to the sunken vessel but they have reported that the weather and the environmental conditions are making it dangerous for them to get into the ferry.

PM Phillips explained today that as the days go by, the vessel is “sinking deeper and deeper into the mud”, making recovery efforts more difficult.

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 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.

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. Another official from the Transport and Harbours Department (T&HD), which manages ferry services, was also detained as part of the police investigation. Today, the trio was charged with murder and remanded to prison.

Moreover, in its initial probe into the issue, the  government uncovered that more people were aboard the vessel than had been recorded on the original passenger manifest. That information, along with the manifest, was immediately made public and resulted in several managers at the T&HD being sent off on suspension.

Meanwhile, in keeping with an earlier commitment for an independent probe, President Ali has named a five-member distinguished panel to lead the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the MV Barima tragedy.