GEORGETOWN, Guyana — Commissioners investigating the fatal sinking of the MV Barima visited two East Bank Demerara dry docks Friday that had handled maintenance and repairs on the vessel, continuing their preparations for oral hearings scheduled to begin October 14. The five-member panel’s October 9 inspections followed visits to maritime agencies and Georgetown port facilities the previous day.
Both dry docks had worked on the ferry at different times before its July 18 sinking, according to a statement issued by the inquiry’s secretary and published by Guyana’s Department of Public Information. The statement described the visits as preliminary fact-finding intended to help commissioners understand facilities and operations relevant to the investigation.
On October 8, the panel inspected the Transport and Harbours Department’s Goods Wharf in Kingston, Georgetown, and visited that department and the Maritime Administration Department. DPI’s account of Thursday’s work said commissioners examined operational areas, records and the CCTV room at the wharf, then boarded the MV Ma Lisha, which operates between Georgetown and Port Kaituma.
The team also met privately with Maritime Administration Department Director General Captain Stephen Thomas. Oral hearings are scheduled for the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, where witnesses will give testimony about the circumstances surrounding the disaster.
Commission Secretary Javed Shadick said at an October 6 briefing that more than 100 witnesses were expected, including first responders, officials, survivors and relatives of those who died. “Our initial count, we’re looking at more than 100 witnesses,” he said.
Shadick distinguished community outreach from formal testimony. “At these meetings, there is no evidence to be taken,” he said. The announced schedule calls for commissioners to visit Mabaruma on October 12 and Port Kaituma on October 13 to meet survivors and families and inspect waterfront facilities.
The inquiry is chaired by Justice Godfrey Phillip Smith of Belize. Its other members are Captain Hamada Fouda of the Maritime Authority of Jamaica; Trinidad and Tobago maritime attorney Nyree Dawn Alfonso; Polish naval architect and marine engineer Andrzej Jasionowski; and retired Rear Admiral Hayden Pritchard of Trinidad and Tobago.
The Transport and Harbours Department owned and operated the MV Barima. In its October 6 account, DPI reported that 72 bodies had been recovered and 30 people remained unaccounted for. The commission is examining the sinking’s causes and contributing factors, compliance with maritime laws and operating standards, and the response to the disaster.
DPI reported October 8 that Smith expected the inquiry to take about six months. Its findings and recommendations will be submitted to President Mohamed Irfaan Ali.
