Questions about the rescue efforts for MV Barima

Dear Editor,

Through your newspaper, I ask some questions that many Guyanese and others are asking. I will number my questions, for ease of reference.

1. Could the Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Centre (MSRC) publish the timeline for the rescue effort for the sinking MV Barima ferry? This MSRC Centre is coordinated through MARAD and the Prime Minister’s office. Through the interviews conducted and published by WIN and journalist(s) with Kiskadee Watch and Kaieteur News, I understand that the ferry lost power from one engine after only four hours from leaving Georgetown on Saturday 18 July, and began to take on water on its lower deck. Either because of loss of power or for some other reason, the ferry became stuck in a mudbank offshore of Iron Punt, Pomeroon.
2. I ask the MSRC Centre and/or Timehri radio to say if the ferry issued a Pan Pan distress call between 1900 and 2300 hours (7 to 11 PM) on Saturday, following the SOLAS norm.

Guyana acceded to the International Convention on the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) on 10 December 1997, and SOLAS became effective in Guyana on 10 March 1998. So presumably all licensed ferry officers in Guyana are aware of the different international distress signals. According to some survivors, the ferry continued to take on water during those four hours.

3. Can the rescued crew say at what time the passengers were advised to put on the lifejackets stored on the ferry, and
4. at what time the two lifeboats and six inflatable rafts were launched, and
5. how many passengers were in each craft?

MV Barima issued its main distress call by radio, the Mayday signal, at 2301 hours. Mayday means that there is imminent danger of loss of life. Under SOLAS, all ships hearing the Mayday have an international duty to respond.

6. At what time did the MSRC Centre relay the Mayday call to the Exxon offshore supply vessels (OSVs) which run between Georgetown and the Stabroek Tract oilfields, and
7. which vessels responded, as required by SOLAS?
8. At what time did the MSRC Centre relay the Mayday call to the Omni Helicopters Guyana Ltd. base at Ogle and to their Gouveia partner to ask for immediate launch of the rescue helicopters? We know that Captain Gerry Gouveia Jr took off 2 ½ hours after the Mayday call, at 01.36 hours in an Islander fixed-wing aircraft of his Roraima Airways for the 20-minutes flight from Ogle to Iron Punt, where he saw a distress flare and reported its GPS coordinates.
9. But what about the helicopters and their trained rescue swimmers?
10. At what time did the MSRC Centre relay the Mayday call to the police boat stationed close to the mouth of the Pomeroon river, and so perhaps the nearest water craft to the sinking ferry, and
11. what was the response from the police boat?
12. At what time did the MSRC Centre relay the Mayday call to the Coastguard and
13. when did the two French-built MARAD Ocean Pilot boats (acquired in October 2025) leave Georgetown and
14. when did they arrive at Iron Punt?
15. What other Coastguard and MARAD resources were despatched and when?
16. Was the Metal Shark fishery patrol vessel sent out?

I note that Exxon has sent three of its OSVs to Iron Punt and has carried out a sonar survey to look for boat bits and human bodies. Exxon or the French have also sent a team of divers. As the sea is shallow and the wreck cannot be deep, we learned at 6.30 PM on 20 July about the recovery of 27 drowned passengers, and that 83 others are still missing.

I was glad to see that the Leader of the parliamentary Opposition, Azruddin Mohamed, is leading by example, the only MP whom I have seen out on the water to help the rescue efforts directly. Compared with Ministers sitting comfortably in the Umana Yama and providing almost no helpful information to the affected families.

I understand that the President of Guyana has been away on business in Canada, and on his return he has met some of the families. It would be conventional in most countries after loss of life of this magnitude to declare official days of mourning.

17. Mr President, when will our flags fly at half-mast, and for how many days, as we continue to mourn this national tragedy that follows three years after the burning to death of 20 children while in the care of the State in Mahdia, Region 8?