Families of the MV Barima victims are owed an inquiry they can believe in

October 10, 2026·2 min read

Dear Editor,

The daughter of a missing MV Barima passenger told the Commission of Inquiry^[1] that she has no confidence in the probe. Her words should be treated as a warning for the Commission, not dismissed as one grieving relative’s frustration. Families have been picketing weekly, pressing for the vessel to be refloated and criticising the lack of direct communication from the State and the COI. Her sentiment is evidently shared.

If it goes unaddressed, the consequences for the Commission could be serious. A rigorous report can still be dismissed before it is written, and findings the public has already decided not to believe carry little weight. Families and witnesses who distrust the process may also withhold testimony or boycott it, leaving gaps in the evidence and weakening the very record the Commission needs. Doubts about how the COI was established can harden into a belief that the outcome is predetermined, regardless of how the commissioners actually conduct themselves.

Small grievances can feed that belief. Families have complained that some received $650,000 per missing relative for burial costs while others received only $350,000. Whatever the explanation, an unexplained disparity like this lets people conclude that the process treats families unequally. Once that conclusion forms, it colours how everything else the Commission does is received.

Other inquiries have faced the same danger. After the Grenfell Tower fire, survivors and bereaved families doubted that a single-chair inquiry could understand their experience, and some threatened to boycott it.^[2] After a petition drew over 156,000 signatures, the government reversed its earlier refusal and added two panel members.^[2]

The question of evidence compounds the problem. Many families see the salvage of the vessel as essential to answers and closure, and if hearings proceed without it, the Commission may be judged on that grievance rather than on its findings. There is also the danger of politicisation, as the COI risks becoming a proxy for wider disputes over government accountability, drowning out the families it was created to serve. Even if it completes its work, recommendations on maritime safety and compensation will be harder to carry out, and easier to challenge, if public trust is low.

These risks can be reduced. The Commission should open a direct and regular line of communication with the families. It should publish its procedures and timelines clearly, and say plainly how evidence, including the wreck, will be preserved and examined. It should also explain any differences in treatment of families before they harden into resentment.

Ninety-odd lives were lost or remain unaccounted for. The families are owed more than an inquiry. They are owed one they can believe in.

Sincerely,
Keith Bernard

References

Daughter of missing MV Barima passenger tells CoI she has no confidence in probe - Kiskadee Watch — kiskadeewatch.com ↩
Grenfell Tower fire: Government makes U-turn on inquiry panel after pressure from bereaved families | The Independent | The Independent — www.independent.co.uk ↩

Daughter of missing MV Barima passenger tells CoI she has no confidence in probe - Kiskadee Watch

kiskadeewatch.com · 2026-10-09

Daughter of missing MV Barima passenger tells CoI she has no confidence in probe - Kiskadee Watch # Daughter of missing MV Barima passenger tells CoI she has no confidence in probe By Staff Editor Fri, October 9 2026, 2:10 AM GMT-4 Dolly Cox speaking to the commissioners —says family still awaiting promised support Dolly Cox, whose father remains missing following the MV Barima tragedy, on Wednesday told commissioners investigating the disaster that she had no confidence in the inquiry and that her family was still awaiting promised government assistance. “I’m here to say that I do not trust y’all. I keep hearing promises and all are empty promises,” an anguished Cox said. Her remarks came during an interactive meeting with relatives of victims at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, Liliendaal. Kiskadee Watch reported that families pressed commissioners for answers about the recovery of the vessel and those still missing following the July 18 sinking. ... said she was the last person ... father spoke with before the ... . She described him as a devoted father, a skilled mechanic and the ... ’s breadwinner ... Cox told commissioners that government representatives had promised assistance for her mother, but the family had received none. They were also asked to submit a list of building materials needed for the homes her father had been constructing, she said. “They told us to send a list of material that we need, and still we didn’t get no reply. They are not doing anything. And I don’t think y’all would do anything either.” ... “I am angry! I am angry because the same government that hired y’all to come and do y’all investigation is the same government that let that happen,” Cox said. The MV Barima sank on July 18 off the Essequibo Coast while travelling from Georgetown to Port Kaituma. The disaster left scores dead and others missing, including Cox’s father, and prompted the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the sinking. The vessel remains under water as relatives continue to press for its recovery.

Source

Families of the MV Barima victims are owed an inquiry they can believe in in Kiskadee Watch, October 10, 2026

Grenfell Tower fire: Government makes U-turn on inquiry panel after pressure from bereaved families | The Independent | The Independent

www.independent.co.uk · 2018-05-11

The government has caved to pressure from relatives of Grenfell Tower victims to include a “diverse” range of people on the panel investigating reasons behind the blaze. Theresa May previously rejected a request from grieving family members for a diverse decision-making panel to sit alongside the head of the public inquiry, Sir Martin Moore-Bick, a retired high court judge. But following a petition signed by more than 156,000 people and a number of meetings with bereaved relatives, the prime minister announced she will appoint two additional members to the panel. ... The additional two ... members will join the inquiry for its second stage, which will begin in December at the earliest. Adel Chaoui, who lost four relatives in the fire and launched the petition for the Grenfell United survivors’ group, said he was relieved at the decision. ... all of us ... we lost in the fire ... the prime minister a ... to make our ... The shadow justice secretary, Richard Burgon, said the decision to grant a panel in the Grenfell i nquiry was testimony to the campaign by the bereaved families and the survivors, but said they “should never have had to wage this campaign”. “The demand for a panel was always about ensuring the trust of the community in the inquiry and it should have been delivered from the start,” he added. “For the Grenfell inquiry to deliver truth and justice, it must always have the full confidence of the bereaved families and survivors and it is essential that, going forward, all their other demands are properly met.” ... It comes after 14 bereaved family members met with Ms May on Thursday, in a meeting that was scheduled to last 30 minutes but lasted an hour-and-a-half. During the meeting, the prime minister was told a diverse panel would help to restore campaigners’ confidence in the investigation. Afterwards, Clarrie Mendy, whose cousin Mary Mendy died in the fire along with her daughter Khadija Saye, told The Independent: “We were asking for a diverse panel for the inquiry. We need diversity. It’s not that hard. That’s what will restore our confidence. “We gave her a lot to think about, she never said no, she listened to the concerns, but she kept saying she would ‘think and reflect’. We had to keep bringing her back to the main frame, we don’t want to know about lessons to be

Families of the MV Barima victims are owed an inquiry they can believe in — Keith Bernard — Opinion