More than three weeks after the MV Barima disaster claimed dozens of lives and left families waiting for answers, relatives and friends of brothers Neil and Kenrick Cort gathered yesterday to celebrate their lives, even as the family continues to await closure.
A Celebration of Life service for the two brothers was held at the Central Assembly of God Diplomatic Centre, with the ceremony also livestreamed for those unable to attend in person.
The service brought together friends, relatives and loved ones of the Cort family, who gathered not simply to mourn, but to remember two brothers whose lives were deeply connected to the vessel at the centre of Guyana’s worst maritime disaster.
Neil Cort, 57, and his younger brother Kenrick Cort, 53, remain among those missing following the July 18 sinking of the MV Barima.
For the Cort family, however, the tragedy has not ended with the sinking of the vessel.
They have been left waiting for answers about what happened to the brothers and, crucially, for the recovery of their remains.
A lifetime with T&HD
Neil Cort’s connection to Guyana’s maritime transport system stretched back decades.
According to his wife, Dianne Cort, Neil spent 37 years serving the Transport and Harbours Department (T&HD).
Before becoming the operator of the canteen aboard the MV Barima, Neil worked at the Georgetown ferry, where he sold tickets and performed other duties connected to the ferry service. He later worked in Region One, again selling tickets, and also assisted with steadying boats when they arrived at their destinations.
For many years, his working life was therefore intertwined with the very transportation system on which residents of the hinterland depend.
Dianne told Kiskadee Watch that Neil had operated the canteen aboard the MV Barima for more than 20 years, while she herself worked alongside him for almost two decades.
For the family, Neil was therefore not simply a passenger on the ill-fated voyage. He was a longtime worker associated with the vessel and the wider T&HD system.
Beyond his working life, Neil was remembered by his family as a caring and generous man.
Dianne described him as someone who placed others before himself.
Operating the canteen was not always financially rewarding, she explained, and Neil would often supplement his income by bringing additional food items to sell to passengers.
He would carry items such as eggs, bread, tennis rolls, vegetables and chicken, selling them during voyages.
The Cort family has also been among those raising serious questions about the condition of the MV Barima before its final voyage.
In an interview following the disaster, Dianne alleged that the vessel had experienced mechanical problems for some time and was heavily loaded with passengers and cargo before it departed on July 18.
She said the vessel was carrying large boxes, motorbikes and other items and alleged that, based on conversations involving engineers aboard the vessel, only one engine was operational at the time.
Those claims were also consistent with an account given to Kiskadee Watch by survivor Donald Modestee, who reported that only one engine was working and that the vessel was overloaded.
In the days following the sinking, the family endured the agonising process of searching among recovered bodies in the hope of finding Neil.
Dianne told Kiskadee Watch that Neil’s son travelled almost daily to the area where bodies were being recovered.
At one point, the family was informed that the authorities believed they had found Neil.
It was not him.
The remains were later identified as belonging to another person who had been aboard the vessel.
For the family, the experience added another layer of trauma to an already devastating situation.
Neil was not alone aboard the MV Barima.
His brother Kenrick Cort, 53, was also aboard the vessel and remains missing.
The two brothers’ disappearance has therefore left the Cort family confronting the loss of two members of the same family in a single disaster.
Kiskadee Watch’s initial list of missing persons following the tragedy included both Kenrick and Neil Cort.
Their daughter and niece, Jasmin Cort, has since become one of the family’s strongest voices in demanding answers.
She has pressed authorities to recover the vessel, arguing that families cannot properly achieve closure while loved ones may still be trapped inside.
‘We deserve to have closure’while also continuing her advocacy on Facebook calling for the retrieval of the vessel and the search of her father had uncle.
Jasmin has also questioned the pace at which authorities moved to salvage the MV Barima.
When the Government eventually announced that it would seek contractors to raise the vessel, she questioned why families were being asked to wait while the procurement process continued.
She therefore questioned why the process required additional time before action could begin.
“I’m still concerned about the boat,” she said, questioning the delay in closing the bidding process.
Jasmin has been clear that the family wants the vessel recovered regardless of the cost, arguing that the families deserve answers about what happened to their loved ones.
The Government initially discussed the possibility of creating an underwater memorial at the site rather than raising the vessel, amid concerns about the difficulty of the salvage operation.
Families of victims, however, continued to push for the vessel to be recovered.
The Government subsequently moved to invite expressions of interest from qualified marine salvage contractors.
But even that decision has not ended the family’s concerns.
For the Cort family, Sunday’s Celebration of Life therefore carries a complicated meaning.
It is an opportunity to remember Neil and Kenrick as brothers, fathers, relatives, friends and members of a community.
But it is also a painful acknowledgment that the family has been forced to hold a memorial service without having the remains of the two men.
The family continues to wait for the MV Barima to be raised and for the circumstances surrounding the disaster to be fully established.
Also among those still missing is 44-year-old Quincy Smartt, who was on duty as a security officer at the time of the MV Barima tragedy. Minister of Human Services and Social Security Susan Rodrigues said she visited Smartt’s family and offered words of comfort and solidarity, while reaffirming the Government’s commitment to supporting the family as search and recovery efforts continue. A memorial service was held for Smartt on August 7, 2026, as relatives and loved ones gathered to honour his life while continuing to await the recovery of his remains.
Also still missing is 74-year-old Kenneth Cox, who was travelling to Port Kaituma for work at the time of the MV Barima tragedy. Minister of Human Services and Social Security Susan Rodrigues said she visited Cox’s wife, offering support and solidarity to the family and reaffirming the Government’s commitment to standing with affected families as efforts continue to bring answers and closure.
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