Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed yesterday demanded answers from the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the MV Barima disaster over the awarding of the contract to salvage the vessel to BK International, questioning the experience of the company and the process that was used in the selection.  

He raised the issue during an interactive session with relatives of victims and the commissioners at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown, where he also challenged the credibility and independence of the inquiry.

Mohamed questioned how long the salvage process had taken and queried when the contract was awarded, who secured it and what experience the successful contractor had in raising vessels.

He further questioned the circumstances surrounding the selection, suggesting that the contractor may have known it had secured the job before the award was publicly disclosed.He also pondered whether the company had the necessary experience to undertake the recovery of the MV Barima, which has remained underwater since the July 18 disaster.

Mohamed observed that the recovery of the vessel was critical to determining what happened and should take precedence before the inquiry proceeds further. “I think the CoI should hold off. Let us get the Barima first,” he remarked. 

He questioned why the vessel, which he said was lying approximately 40 feet under water, had not yet been raised, particularly when Guyana’s offshore oil operations involve recovering resources from thousands of feet beneath the seabed. “We have Exxon pumping our oil 6,000 feet down. And now you are telling me we can’t float this boat?”

He said the vessel, which weighs approximately 500 tonnes, should be recoverable and that its continued presence under water posed a risk to evidence that could help establish the cause of the disaster.

Mohamed also expressed no confidence in the independence of the commissioners, raising concerns about possible connections of two commissioners to persons associated with the Government and questioning whether those relationships could affect public confidence in the inquiry.

Further, he called for the three men charged with 73 counts of murder in connection with the disaster to be released, noting that their continued detention could affect the commission’s ability to obtain information from them. “I’m worried you’re going to pin everything on the three men,” he said, adding that the men could be reluctant to provide information or documents while facing criminal charges.

Mohamed further called for $5 million in interim payments to each affected family, saying relatives continue to face significant financial and other hardships as they deal with the aftermath of the tragedy. 

He said some families were struggling even to secure transportation to attend proceedings and other engagements connected to the disaster.

Mohamed also demanded that the commission’s final report be made public, arguing that Guyanese taxpayers are funding the inquiry and therefore have a right to see its findings.

“The report must be given to the people of Guyana,” he said.

The MV Barima sank on July 18 while travelling from Georgetown to Port Kaituma, resulting in the deaths of dozens of passengers and crew members, with several persons still unaccounted for.