(Kaieteur News) – The overarching theme of Wednesday’s consultation with the commissioners of the MV Barima Commission of Inquiry was a profound lack of trust in presidential inquiries, as speakers repeatedly questioned whether the process could deliver justice and accountability for the families of those who died.
The meeting, held at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, turned to vivid eyewitness accounts as survivors recounted the sheer terror of the capsizing, shedding further light on the chaotic conditions on board.
Diane Cort, whose husband operated the ship’s canteen and perished alongside his brother, delivered an agonising testimony describing how the vessel was forced to set sail despite severe, pre-existing mechanical failures. She revealed that the ship had been operating on only one working engine during its return journey from Region One and was severely overloaded prior to its final departure.
“Me and my husband were down there since Wednesday preparing. Only one engine was working on that boat – one engine,” Diane testified. “They still decided to load it. The hatch was full of goods, and the engine room was packed. The minister sent a standby generator that Friday, and the engineers didn’t even know where to put it because the boat was already overloaded. They had to force space for two big generators on a boat that was already taking in water.”
Wednesday’s meeting between MV Barima families and Commissioners of the MV Barima CoI, the Commission will start public hearings next week.
Diane shared that her husband frequently complained about water leaking into the hull and pipes breaking, often paying out of his own pocket for sealant because authorities claimed there was no money for basic repairs. “The second engineer told me, ‘Auntie Diane, only one engine working.’ My husband told me that morning, ‘Diane, they pushing this boat to go, and this boat is in no condition to go.’ But they didn’t have a choice because of their jobs. The last thing my husband was doing that night in all that water was cooking for the passengers.”
Cort also criticised the State’s post-disaster relief efforts, revealing that a social worker visited her home offering a $20,000 stipend. “My husband was my breadwinner. What can $20,000 do for me now? Who will pay my bills? Guyanese don’t get justice. Everything just disappears.”
Dolly Cox, who lost her father, the sole outboard mechanic for Port Kaituma, expressed deep anger over broken government promises to support surviving dependents. She testified that her sickly mother was forced to seek employment, while four school-aged siblings have been unable to attend classes regularly due to the loss of their family’s primary income provider, “Ah doan trust y’all and ah doan trust this government”.
“My father left four children in school who can’t go to school every day because of what this government did. They promised to help my mother, promised to fix our house, told us to bring a list of materials, and then did nothing. What should I say to my four-year-old sister who is still asking for her father? We have to go to the seaside and drop flowers in the water just to grieve.”
One female survivor, Samantha Ramit, who was traveling with eight of her grandchildren, four of whom survived while four tragically perished, including an infant who remains missing, recalled the desperate struggle to stay afloat after being plunged into the dark water.
“I couldn’t swim, but I just keep pulling up, pulling up in my hand, I’m kicking and I reach up to the surface and there was a box,” she recounted. “I don’t know, God was in that place because a box was just stable… I see a hand went struggling, I don’t know if it was a man, a woman, a child, or whatever, but I snatched down and I placed the hand from the box… when I watch as this lady will pull up, it’s a lady. I ask her one question, I say, ‘You got strength?’…”
She described the horrifying realisation that life jackets were completely out of reach for passengers in the centre of the boat, leaving families helpless as the vessel went down. “I tried to reach the life jacket, but it was on top of the rack and I couldn’t get it. I drank water, drank water, drank water, and prayed to God for strength. We lost four children that night, and we still haven’t found the baby.”
“This boat was overloaded, fully packed,” one survivor explained to the panel. “When you operate with only one working engine, that engine is supposed to push the boat under normal conditions. But when water starts merging into the hull, one engine cannot handle that load or give you the power needed to manoeuvre out of danger. Once that happened, there was no coming back. It became an arm of death.”
He further criticised the decision to load two heavy standby generators onto the vessel at the last minute, “The generator was the very last thing put on that key, forced onto a boat that was already weighed down. It was a disaster waiting to happen.”
Opposition Member of Parliament, Odessa Primus criticised the government’s post-tragedy actions, highlighting an outreach trip conducted by the subject minister to Region One shortly after the disaster.
Addressing the commissioners directly, Primus pointed out a glaring contradiction in the State’s handling of the disaster: while three low-level crew members face criminal charges, the broader institutional and administrative decision-makers have escaped scrutiny. “We have three innocent men sitting in prison, but you don’t ask to figure out who really caused this or who is liable,” the MP stated, calling on the Commission to issue bold, unvarnished recommendations. “If the minister is responsible, say it clearly in your report that he has caused failure systemically. If he is not, say clearly, he is not. We are depending on you not to shroud this in fancy words.”
In response, commission members acknowledged the legal complexity created by concurrent criminal proceedings. Chair of the commission, Godfrey Smith explained that under standard legal protections against self-incrimination, individuals facing criminal charges cannot be compelled to testify before an inquiry, which limits direct oral testimony from those key figures. However, the panel stressed that it remains committed to examining all surrounding evidence to determine systemic responsibility.
Commissioners also reiterated their personal and professional independence from local partisan politics. “Each of us is outside the politics of Guyana,” Commissioner Nyree Alfonso noted, reassuring the audience that panel members were selected for their technical expertise from international jurisdictions, including Trinidad and Tobago, Belize, Poland, and Egypt. “Nobody is going to vote for us…no one is voting for us in an election. Whatever went wrong, and wherever the evidence leads, it will be revealed fearlessly.”
Leader of the Opposition Demands C0I Halt, Citing Conflicts of Interest and Systemic Corruption
Addressing the session, the Leader of the Opposition Azruddin Mohamed delivered a critique of both the government’s post-disaster handling and the integrity of the Commission of Inquiry, declaring a total lack of confidence in the proceedings.
The opposition leader also raised serious allegations regarding the salvage procurement process, claiming that contractor selection was pre-determined long before formal announcements: “Before this contract was awarded to the grasshopper… the person that had to get the contract to bring in the wire ropes already, done ordered wire ropes a month or two months ago. They already knew that the contract was awarded.”
Calling for the immediate dismissal of criminal charges against the three crew members currently in jail, warning that they are being used as scapegoats while senior decision-makers escape accountability and urging immediate $5 million interim payouts per affected family to cover severe economic hardships, alongside adequate transportation, food, and basic support during official consultations.
Relatives, community elders, and legal representatives argued that completing an investigation without inspecting the sunken hull is fundamentally flawed, as crucial physical evidence, including cargo weight distributions, machinery, and the trapped remains of victims, remains underwater.
Commissioners conceded that retrieving the ship represents the ideal condition for gathering evidence, stating that panel members have repeatedly pushed State authorities to expedite salvage efforts. However, the Chairman cautioned that the Commission itself lacks statutory power or operational equipment to physically raise the vessel.
“There is no disconnect between what you are asking for and what we are asking for,” a Commissioner explained. “We are of the strong view that raising the vessel offers the best possible circumstance for evidence. However, if that does not happen, our terms of reference still require us to investigate systemic failures so that this never happens to another family.”
Civil society members countered that the commission must advocate publicly and forcefully for the vessel’s retrieval, warning that any final report delivered while the wreck remains submerged will lack legitimacy in the eyes of the public.
Source: Kaieteur News
