Dear Editor,
The tragic capsizing of the MV Barima has left our nation in mourning. I personally extend my deepest condolences and sympathies to the affected families. May they all find closure in a country with a PPP administration that is determined to impose their own way on every facet of Guyanese life; even in tragedy.
As we now confront the grim reality of searching for bodies, we must ask hard questions about how this disaster was allowed to happen and how the response is being handled.
The MV Barima was not seaworthy and should never have been on the open sea. This vessel should have been in the dry docks since March 2026, but as usual, the PPP does not care about the Guyanese people lives.
The vessel, built in 1939, was an 87-year-old relic with a documented history of “grave safety defects” that required $90 million in emergency repairs as recently as 2022. Reports now confirm the ship’s cargo load of 286 tonnes exceeded its certified capacity of 284 tonnes. The captain and first engineer tested positive for cannabis while on the job and in control of the operations of the vessel. The official passenger manifest was riddled with discrepancies, which illustrates that there is a major fraud occurring at the TH&D and because of this fraud, dozens of survivors were never recorded on board and we may never know how many persons perished. There are reports that more than 200 persons were on the vessel but we can never confirm because of this fraud.
These operational breaches occurred under the watch of Minister Juan Edghill, who has promised that the “full force of the law” will apply to those responsible, but unfortunately the “buck” stops at Minister Edghill’s desk. He should resign immediately if he has any iota of professional integrity left in him and let another Minister run this recovery operations and the expected Commission of Inquiry.
So rather than act responsibly and allow a more competent Minister like Minister Indar, Minister Ramraj or the Hon. Prime Minister to take over the investigation, what Minister Edghill is doing is nothing else but “blocking up” the process with his presence.
His promises ring hollow when we consider a more immediate and pressing question:
Why is the Government of Guyana not accepting recovery help from the Government of Trinidad and Tobago and the Government of France, by way of the authorities in French Guiana in the forms of divers to bring those dead bodies up and ensure there is closure for the dozens of families?
Search and rescue operations are now in the grim phase of body recovery. The operation has been expanded to cover 1,070 square kilometres. The scale of this tragedy demands every available resource including help from our neighbours.
Trinidad and Tobago possesses significant maritime search and rescue capabilities. French Guiana, as an overseas department of France, has access to sophisticated French naval and aviation assets that could assist in this crisis.
These are the questions the public deserves answers to. The families of the missing deserve closure and the assurance that every possible effort is being made. If our government has nothing to hide, it should accept all offers of international assistance without delay.