Guyana names former Belize attorney general to lead international probe into ferry disaster
Phillip Godfrey Smith will chair a five-member commission examining overcrowding, cargo, safety equipment and possible negligence in the MV Barima sinking.
GEORGETOWN, Guyana. Guyana's government on July 26 appointed a team of international experts to investigate the July 18 sinking of the government ferry MV Barima, the worst maritime disaster in the country's recorded history.
The Irish-built, 87-year-old vessel sank about 50 miles from the capital as it sailed to Port Kaituma, a jungle and Indigenous community in the northwest near Venezuela.
Many still missing
Authorities say 179 passengers were aboard. Search and recovery teams have rescued 76 and found just under 80 bodies, leading officials to believe many remain inside the vessel, which lies on the seabed under about 50 feet of water.
International teams are continuing recovery work, including efforts to drag the vessel into shallower water or to salvage and inspect it.
Independent commission
In a national address on July 26, President Irfaan Ali said the team would have wide powers to determine its own methods and would operate independently. Legal instruments to establish the commission are being finalised.
Former Belizean attorney general Phillip Godfrey Smith will chair the five-person commission, which will examine all aspects of the tragedy, including whether professional negligence was to blame.
The commission will scrutinise "passenger management including embarkation, manifest preparation, the possible overcrowding of the vessel, the storage of cargo, the availability and use of life saving equipment and adherence to passenger safety requirements".
Ali said it would also determine whether "any acts of negligence, misconduct, dereliction of duty and other failures by any individual, entity or institution" contributed to the disaster, including the vessel's condition, maintenance history and navigation and communication equipment.
Survivors' accounts
Dozens of those rescued, some after clinging to floating debris for up to 11 hours, have said the ferry was overcrowded and overloaded with cargo, including vehicles and large pallets. They also say it was taking in water but that crew members dismissed this as "normal".
Ali said he hoped the commission would recommend institutional and operational reforms to strengthen maritime safety, "improve emergency preparedness and response, and reduce the likelihood of similar tragedies occurring in the future".
