A former captain of the MV Barima has alleged that persistent management interference, chronic overloading and safety deficiencies within the Transport and Harbours Department (T&HD) for years created conditions that made the vessel “a floating disaster waiting to occur,” while questioning why senior officials have not faced scrutiny following the tragedy.
Andrew Donald, who said he served as a captain under T&HD for 12 years and previously commanded the MV Barima, made the claims in a lengthy public statement on Facebook in which he criticised the department’s management practices and raised concerns about the vessel’s seaworthiness.
While Donald declined to be interviewed by Kiskadee Watch when contacted, a number of well-known persons interacted with his social media post, lending credibility to the account’s authenticity and suggesting it belongs to the former captain he claims to be.
His comments come as a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) was announced to investigate the July 18 sinking that claimed 73 lives.
Donald said he had initially intended to remain silent until the Commission concluded its work but decided to speak publicly after hearing emotional accounts from the vessel’s current captain.
“I was going to wait until the CoI concludes… out of respect for the loved ones that perished on the Barima,” he wrote. “Seeing the news headlines today and hearing the wails of that captain activated the buried hatred and disdain that I have for my former place of employment”, he declared.
Donald said he joined the Government’s maritime apprenticeship programme in 2007 and was trained alongside four other officers before serving under contract with T&HD for more than a decade. During that period, he said captains were routinely pressured by managers over vessel operations while being left to shoulder responsibility whenever problems arose.
He said wharf managers and other senior personnel often dictated loading levels and sailing schedules, despite captains being legally responsible for the safe operation of vessels. “They have the power to load, overload and set sailing time for the vessels. But when something goes wrong, they all back-pedalled and left the captain in all the mess,” he stated.
Donald said his repeated objections to unsafe practices resulted in multiple suspensions, transfers, disciplinary proceedings and an overturned dismissal. He also alleged that management delayed his efforts to obtain a Grade One Master’s licence, forcing him to finance the required training and examinations himself before later being reimbursed.
After becoming a confirmed master, Donald said he was assigned command of the MV Barima, where he repeatedly clashed with management over cargo loading. He stated that on numerous occasions he instructed crew members and security personnel to close and lock the cargo hold to prevent additional cargo from being loaded because the vessel had reached safe operating limits.
Donald further said he faced pressure from business owners, offers of bribes and threats of suspension or dismissal whenever he refused to carry additional cargo. “There wasn’t anything that they could do to me that they hadn’t done already,” he wrote, adding that he refused to compromise on safety despite the pressure.
Donald further stated that the vessel itself failed to meet modern international safety standards. He said that the MV Barima, a single-hull vessel, was operating contrary to provisions of the International Maritime Organization’s Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Convention governing passenger vessels. The vessel, he said, lacked sufficient watertight subdivisions to contain flooding in the event of hull damage and was not equipped with an operational bilge pump capable of controlling significant water ingress.
He argued that in the event of a hull breach, the vessel would have had only minutes before sinking and questioned why a relatively inexperienced captain and crew had reportedly been assigned to the vessel at the time of the disaster. He asserted that the three crew members who have since been charged are being used as “scapegoats” while more senior officials have escaped accountability.
Donald posed a series of questions that he believes the Commission should examine, including whether the vessel complied with SOLAS requirements, when it was last inspected, why it continued operating beyond its dry-docking schedule, whether safety certificates were properly renewed, whether cargo limits were exceeded with management approval, and whether emergency systems such as bilge alarms were installed and functional.
He also questioned whether port authorities transmitted an emergency distress call after learning of the incident, whether the vessel’s passage plan had been properly reviewed, and whether experienced officers should have been assigned to the route.
The Government has established a five-member Commission of Inquiry to determine whether negligence, misconduct or institutional failures contributed to the MV Barima tragedy and to recommend measures to improve maritime safety and accountability.
Authorities have also charged the vessel’s captain and two crew members in connection with the disaster. The charges remain before the courts.
The Commission of Inquiry is expected to examine evidence from witnesses, technical experts and maritime officials before submitting its findings to the Government.
The MV Barima capsized late on July 18 while travelling from Georgetown to Port Kaituma after issuing a distress call near the mouth of the Pomeroon River. The disaster triggered Guyana’s largest maritime search and recovery operation, with support from the Guyana Defence Force, Coast Guard, private vessels and regional partners. Seventy-six passengers survived while 73 others lost their lives.
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