—says family still awaiting promised support

Dolly Cox, whose father remains missing following the MV Barima tragedy, on Wednesday told commissioners investigating the disaster that she had no confidence in the inquiry and that her family was still awaiting promised government assistance.

“I’m here to say that I do not trust y’all. I keep hearing promises and all are empty promises,” an anguished Cox said.

Her remarks came during an interactive meeting with relatives of victims at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, Liliendaal. Kiskadee Watch reported that families pressed commissioners for answers about the recovery of the vessel and those still missing following the July 18 sinking. 

Cox said she was the last person her father spoke with before the tragedy. She described him as a devoted father, a skilled mechanic and the family’s breadwinner.

According to Cox, her father was Port Kaituma’s only outboard-engine mechanic and had travelled aboard the vessel with plans to establish a business for her. He had also been constructing homes for his children.

She said his disappearance had left the family struggling financially. Her mother, who is ill and had not worked since meeting him, had been forced to seek employment.

“My father was the breadwinner and they did not help, nothing. My mother had to start working and she is sick. My father left four children in school that can’t go to school every day,” she said.

Cox told commissioners that government representatives had promised assistance for her mother, but the family had received none. They were also asked to submit a list of building materials needed for the homes her father had been constructing, she said.

“They told us to send a list of material that we need, and still we didn’t get no reply. They are not doing anything. And I don’t think y’all would do anything either.”

Cox said explaining her father’s absence to her younger siblings had been particularly painful.

“My sisters are here asking questions because they don’t really understand. What am I going to tell them? What should I say to my four-year-old sister? Daddy still in the sea?”

Without his remains, she said, the family had no gravesite at which to mourn.

“Even if we want to carry flowers, we got to go to the seaside and drop the flowers in the sea,” she said. “That’s how we got to grieve our father.”

The continued wait for the vessel to be raised was a central concern at Wednesday’s meeting. Kiskadee Watch reported that Royston Frank, whose son Rawle was a crew member, urged that its recovery be prioritised to secure evidence needed for the investigation.

Commissioner Dr Andrzej Jasionowski disclosed that BK International had been selected for the salvage operation and said preparations could take another week or two. Commissioners stressed that careful planning was necessary to avoid damaging the vessel and compromising evidence. They also explained that awarding the salvage contract was outside their authority and that other investigative work would continue while recovery was pending

Cox also recounted experiences aboard the MV Barima which she believed should have prompted concerns about its safety.

She said a fire had broken out in the engine room during one voyage, but the vessel was subsequently allowed to continue operating. On another occasion, she said, an engine failure left the vessel drifting for three days before assistance arrived.

Kiskadee Watch reported that commissioners assured relatives that their examination would extend beyond the vessel’s final voyage to its maintenance, mechanical failures, inspections and the institutions responsible for ferry operations. 

“I am angry! I am angry because the same government that hired y’all to come and do y’all investigation is the same government that let that happen,” Cox said.

The MV Barima sank on July 18 off the Essequibo Coast  while travelling from Georgetown to Port Kaituma. The disaster left scores dead and others missing, including Cox’s father, and prompted the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the sinking. The vessel remains under water as relatives continue to press for its recovery.