Ignoring calls from the opposition for consultations on the Commission of Inquiry into the calamitous sinking of the MV Barima with over 70 deaths, President Irfaan Ali yesterday named a five-member commission to be chaired by a Belizean jurist.
The commission comprises Belizean Senior Counsel Godfrey P. Smith, Trinidad and Tobago attorney Nyree Dawn Alfonso, retired Rear Admiral Hayden Pritchard, Jamaican maritime expert Captain Hamada Fouda and Polish naval architect Dr Andrzej Jasionowski.
The panel has been tasked with determining the circumstances surrounding the July 18 sinking of the MV Barima and making recommendations to strengthen Guyana’s maritime safety framework.
In broadcasts yesterday and the previous day, President Ali said the inquiry would examine all aspects of the disaster, including the vessel’s loading, seaworthiness, passenger management, search and rescue operations and the actions of all agencies involved.
The commission was appointed under Section 2(1) of the Commissions of Inquiry Act, and according to the President, will determine its own procedures and methods of work.
The tragedy occurred when the MV Barima capsized while travelling from Georgetown to Port Kaituma. Following the tragedy some 76 people were rescued and 73 bodies were recovered but there are roughly another 30 persons who were on the vessel and remain unaccounted for.
Commission members
Smith, who will chair the commission, is a former Attorney General and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belize and currently serves as CARICOM’s High-Level Representative for Law and Criminal Justice.
According to the Department of Public Information (DPI), Smith is also a partner at Byron Smith, Arbitrators & Litigation Support Services in St Lucia and Senior Partner at Marine Parade Chambers LLP.
He previously served as one of the commissioners who examined the disputed 2020 General and Regional Elections in Guyana and was an ad hoc judge of the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal.
Smith holds a Master of Arts degree in International Relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and an LLB from the University of the West Indies and Norman Manley Law School.
He has also served as Belize’s Attorney General and Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, and Minister of Tourism and National Emergency Management.
Smith was previously involved in a political controversy in Belize in 2005 over government agreements that outsourced management of the Belize Companies Registry and the Belize Intellectual Property Office (BELIPO) to a private company. Reports by Belize media outlets 7 News Belize, Amandala Newspaper and News 5 Belize at the time detailed allegations from opposition groups, including the United Democratic Party (UDP), and the Association of Concerned Belizeans (ACB), that the arrangements lacked proper authority and raised concerns over revenue-sharing and government oversight. Smith denied allegations that he had any ownership interest or benefited from the arrangement, and defended the outsourcing as an effort to modernise the registries.
The controversy led the Belize government to terminate the agreements in October 2005 and return control of the Companies Registry and Intellectual Property Office to the state. News 5 Belize reported that the government announced it had taken back control of the registries and refunded stamp duty payments associated with the arrangement, while Amandala reported on continuing public debate and legal challenges surrounding the deal. Smith was not found personally liable for wrongdoing in relation to the matter and later continued in senior legal and judicial roles.
Alfonso
Alfonso, who specialises in Admiralty and maritime law, commercial litigation and insurance matters, is the Managing Partner of N.D. Alfonso & Co., which also operates in Guyana.
She has more than 36 years’ experience and has represented international shipowners, insurers, Protection and Indemnity (P&I) Clubs and the Government of Trinidad and Tobago on maritime matters.
Her areas of expertise include ship arrests, marine casualty claims, salvage operations, collisions, charterparty disputes, maritime arbitration and marine insurance.
She holds an LLB from the University of the West Indies, an LLM in Commercial and Corporate Law from King’s College London and a postgraduate diploma in Maritime Law from Lloyd’s Maritime Academy.
According to reports in the Trinidad and Tobago Guardian and Trinidad and Tobago Newsday, Alfonso had been cleared of allegations arising from the procurement of the MV Superfast Galicia for the inter-island sea bridge.
The dispute stemmed from claims by the Port Authority that Alfonso, while serving as its legal adviser, had breached her fiduciary duties by using confidential information to influence the vessel’s selection and charter arrangements. Alfonso denied the allegations, describing the legal action as politically motivated.
The reports said that in September 2023, High Court Judge Joan Charles dismissed the Port Authority’s claim, ruling that it had failed to establish that Alfonso breached any fiduciary duty. The Port Authority subsequently withdrew its appeal, and the Court of Appeal later ordered the authority and the Attorney General’s Office to cover Alfonso’s legal expenses.
Pritchard
Retired Rear Admiral Hayden Pritchard brings more than 38 years of experience in maritime operations, security, logistics and public sector reform.
He served as Chief of Defence Staff of the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force and previously commanded the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard.
His experience includes port security, coastal surveillance systems, disaster response, maritime policy development and national security planning.
According to news reports Pritchard was drawn into a political dispute in Trinidad and Tobago in 2021 after opposition MP Dr Roodal Moonilal questioned his appointment to a National Security Council review of firearm licence procedures.
Moonilal had raised concerns about Pritchard’s purchase of a Housing Development Corporation apartment, suggesting it created a possible conflict. Pritchard rejected the claims, stating that the purchase was conducted through normal procedures and that he had maintained political neutrality throughout his military career.
There has been no public finding that Pritchard committed wrongdoing.
Maritime specialists
Captain Hamada Fouda, a Senior Maritime Surveyor and Compliance Auditor with the Maritime Authority of Jamaica, brings more than 35 years of maritime experience.
According to his professional profile, Fouda has led marine casualty investigations since 2019 under the International Maritime Organization’s Casualty Investigation Code.
His expertise includes vessel safety inspections, port state control, international maritime conventions and compliance auditing.
Questions have been raised locally as to whether Captain Fouda has a relative here associated with a marine entity that has had ties with the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD). Up to press time this question has not been answered. Were Captain Fouda to have such ties here it would pose a conflict of interest in his role as a commissioner and preclude him from participation.
Dr Andrzej Jasionowski is a forensic naval architect and marine engineer specialising in ship stability, flooding dynamics and maritime casualty investigations.
He holds a PhD in damaged vessel hydrodynamics from the University of Strathclyde in the United Kingdom and has worked on investigations involving vessel sinking, grounding, collision and design failures.
His work includes analysis of major maritime disasters such as the MV Estonia ferry disaster, the MV Derbyshire sinking, the MV Sewol ferry disaster and the Deepwater Horizon offshore disaster.
Terms of reference
The commission will examine the causes of the MV Barima sinking and determine whether failures occurred in relation to vessel operations, regulatory oversight or emergency response.
Its mandate includes reviewing:
the vessel’s loading, passenger boarding procedures and conditions aboard the ferry;
the vessel’s maintenance history, seaworthiness and compliance with maritime standards;
search, rescue and recovery operations;
passenger manifests, possible overcrowding, cargo stowage and life-saving equipment;
the qualifications, training and conduct of the master and crew;
weather, tides, currents, navigation and communication factors;
whether negligence, misconduct or dereliction of duty contributed to the disaster.
The inquiry will also recommend legislative, regulatory and institutional reforms aimed at improving maritime safety and preventing similar incidents.
President Ali said the legal instruments required to establish the commission were being finalized and that the inquiry would begin once those processes were completed.
APNU Member of Parliament Dr Terrence Campbell had written Speaker of the National Assembly Manzoor Nadir for permission to move an urgent adjournment motion when Parliament meets today, seeking a debate on the terms of reference for an independent Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the tragedy.
In a letter dated July 24, Campbell invoked Standing Order 12, which allows a member to seek the adjournment of the Assembly to discuss a definite matter of urgent public importance. He wanted the National Assembly to debate and adopt proposed terms of reference for the inquiry into the July 18 sinking. The motion is to be seconded by Opposition MP Juretha Fernandes. The President has now pre-empted this motion and such will likely be the ruling of the Speaker.
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