Salvage of the MV Barima must get underway

Dear Editor,

On 27 July, I called on the government (President Ali, Prime Minister Phillips, MPW Edghill) to immediately requisition the Normand Installer, a heavy-lift vessel at Chaguaramas, Trinidad on 25 July, and heading for installation of mooring anchors and SURF for the FPSO ‘One Guyana’, on contract to SBM Offshore. I called on the government to direct the Normand Installer to the wreck of the MV Barima ferry. (see https://maritimeoptima.com/public/vessels/pages/imo:9328819/mmsi:257583000/NORMAND_INSTALLER.html^[1] for a sight of its huge cranes) (Kiskadee Watch. https://kiskadeewatch.com/opinion/letters/hire-this-vessel-to-lift-mv-barima-immediately/^[2] ).

The Normand Installer has two cranes with 350 and 150 tonnes lifting capacity, and has a draft 8.3 metres.

The following three vessels are already in Guyana waters, that can also be directed to lift the MV Barima; see MARAD Notice to Mariners number 128 (2026) 22 July):

1. Skandi Constructor, crane 250 tonnes, draft 7.9 metres, now at Uaru oilfield
2. Skandi Nomad, crane 250 tonnes, draft 7.5 metres, now at Liza oilfields
3. Skandi Involver, cranes 100 and 400 tonnes, draft 8,0 metres, now at Whiptail and Uaru oilfields

The MARAD Notice to Mariners number 124 (2026) 22 July stated that the wreck is in 10 metres of water, so all four of these crane-equipped vessels can lie alongside the wreck at high tide, long enough to attach lifting hawsers to the port side of the ferry hull which is uppermost.

Meanwhile, the government has apparently decided, without public or parliamentary debate, to leave in place the wreck with the physical evidence needed for the IMO marine safety investigation and the government’s own Commission of Inquiry.

The ‘Declaration of Agreement, MV Barima as a memorial site’, part of it reproduced in Kaieteur News (Ba, K. (2026, July 28). Govt. floats leaving MV Barima on seabed as memorial site. https://kaieteurnewsonline.com/2026/07/28/govt-floats-leaving-mv-barima-on-seabed-as-memorial-site/^[3] ) is a repeat of the government’s actions following the fire that engulfed the dormitory for girls in Mahdia, Region 8, on 21 May 2023 in which 20 children were burned to death while under the State’s care.

In 2023, before the Commission of Inquiry was established, the government secured the signatures of many of the families in an agreement that ‘recognise[d] that the signatories had completely read and understood the terms and voluntarily accepted it for the purpose of a compromise and the settling of all potential claims for liability and injury. It further contended that independent legal advice on the agreement had been offered and/or received by the signatories’.

Stabroek News also reported on 18 July 2023, ‘the agreements were entered into earlier this month in Mahdia and Micobie and the signatory on behalf of the Government of Guyana was Peter Ramotar, the Regional Executive Officer of Potaro/Siparuni … The agreement then goes on to state that the government was offering $5m (USD 25,000) to the parents or guardian of the victim as a form of financial aid which shall constitute a settlement of all claims and actions in relation to injuries resulting in death or not that stemmed from the fire on May 21, 2023 at the Mahdia Secondary School Dormitory’ (Families of Mahdia fire victims get $5m from gov’t as settlement of any possible claims – legal agreement presented earlier this month. Stabroek News. https://www.stabroeknews.com/2023/07/18/news/guyana/families-of-mahdia-fire-victims-get-5m-from-govt-as-settlement-of-any-possible-claims/^[4] ).

The insensitive government bullying of families in grief immediately after the Mahdia dorm fire is being repeated, with this crude form now being circulated to families who lost loved ones in the MV Barima wreck. Is this crude pressure on families the best of the ‘One Guyana’ and ‘Because We Care’ mantras of this government? The MV Barima ferry in 10 metres of water is not the Titanic unreachable in 3,800 metres.

All citizens should now demand that the salvage of the MV Barima ferry get underway.

References

1. https://maritimeoptima.com/public/vessels/pages/imo:9328819/mmsi:257583000/NORMAND_INSTALLER.html ↩
2. Hire this vessel to lift MV Barima immediately — kiskadeewatch.com ↩
3. https://kaieteurnewsonline.com/2026/07/28/govt-floats-leaving-mv-barima-on-seabed-as-memorial-site/ ↩
4. https://www.stabroeknews.com/2023/07/18/news/guyana/families-of-mahdia-fire-victims-get-5m-from-govt-as-settlement-of-any-possible-claims/ ↩