MV Barima was not overloaded – MARAD Director General

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 a press conference on Tuesday night that based on his knowledge, the MV Barima 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 during the press conference, 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”.

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.