The MV Barima tragedy could have been avoided

Dear Editor,

The horrific loss of nearly 80 lives lies squarely in the hands of the authorities entrusted with public transportation. How else can anyone explain an 87-year-old boat ferrying some 130 persons on a 12-hour journey which was earmarked for major repairs a few months before it capsized?

Here are a few facts on the MV Barima:

• The MV Barima was built by the Scottish company, Ferguson Brothers (Port Glasgow) Ltd. in 1939, and was registered and launched in British Guiana on 17th November, 1939.
• In 1966, after Independence, the government of Guyana assumed ownership.
• The MV Barima broke down in 2017 and was repaired at a cost of GY$150 million and was placed back into commission.
• In 2021 major engine components were replaced in an emergency.
• In 2022 portions of the MV Barima were deemed to have seriously deteriorated. As a result, it was subject to emergency repairs for two weeks at a cost of GY$90 million.
• The MV Barima was again subject to critical repairs in 2024 in the Parika dockyard.
• It was slated to be dry-docked in the later part of this year and upgraded at a cost of GY$124.5 million.

What is of grave concern is the fact that in 2023 Minister of Public Works Bishop Juan Edghill stated in Parliament that the US$12.7 million replacement vessel, the MA Lisha was enroute from Calcutta, India. In fact, the Minister travelled to India to attest to the vessel sea worthiness.

No doubt the PPP will invoke the usual defense of this catastrophe, but many are of the view that the vessel did not sink because the crew was using narcotics or drinking. They also believe that alcohol did not erode a hull or allow water to pour into the vessel. The salient question must be: why would such a vessel be allowed to sail for more than twelve hours with its given documented history of problems such as water intake, passenger and cargo overload and unrecorded passenger manifests?

Just like the ’inquiry’ of Madhia fire which claimed 20 lives, the proposed investigation-even though promising- will reveal what all Guyanese already knows: the lives of the populace take second place while the powers that be are more focused on personal wealth attainment. They drive around in very expensive Prados and Land Cruisers while Guyanese at large, with more than 50 % living below the poverty line, must endure hardships. And while Opposition Leader, Mohamed Azruddin, has joined the search and rescue efforts in the Northwest, his premises were searched by police and SOCU officials whose energies could have been directed towards the rescuing of those souls that presided on the MV Barima. What a joke and a blatant misuse of public resources by an inept and dumbfounded administration. Many transportation experts believe that the tragedy could have been avoided.