– Patterson questions adequacy of 2024 rehabilitation
Leader of Forward Guyana Movement (FGM) Amanza Walton-Desir is calling for multiple investigations into the deadly MV Barima tragedy, including one involving international experts, noting that the different probes would serve separate purposes and that any investigation must be independent of the government to command public confidence.
Responding to a question from Kiskadee Watch yesterday, at a joint opposition press conference at Providence, East Bank Demerara, about what form the investigation into the tragedy should take, Walton-Desir said international partners should be called upon to provide the technical expertise needed to determine what went wrong.
“It is my strong recommendation that this government calls on our international partners…calling on them now is appropriate to lend to Guyana the particular technical expertise that will be needed here. This is not uncommon. We do it all the time when there are aviation accidents… I am sure that those agencies will respond positively,” she shared.
Walton-Desir said a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) could also be established but argued that no one associated with the government should be involved in conducting it. “I believe it is time we draw international expertise from the international community to give Guyanese some sense of hope that there will be some impact,” she said.
She added that criminal proceedings could potentially arise from the findings of the investigations, underscoring, in her view, the need for proper institutional arrangements and competent officials overseeing the process.
Walton-Desir also renewed calls for Public Works Minister Juan Edghill to resign, describing his continued presence at government press conferences on the tragedy despite mounting calls for him to step down as “odious”. “I find it odious that given all of the calls for Juan Edghill’s resignation that the government is still callous enough to have him sitting at press conferences and in the face of Guyanese people,” she said.
She further expressed that the government must clearly state what legal mechanism is being used to investigate the MV Barima tragedy and distinguish between the different investigative processes that may be required. “This tragedy demands an investigation that is fair, independent and capable of commanding public confidence,” she urged.
She explained that a serious marine casualty requires a safety investigation aimed not at assigning blame, but at establishing the facts, identifying safety failures and determining how a similar disaster can be prevented. Such an investigation, she said, should examine the vessel’s maintenance history, surveys, certification and inspections, as well as its operational management, regulatory oversight and the actions and decisions that may have contributed to the tragedy.
Walton-Desir raised questions about Prime Minister Mark Phillips’ repeated references to a possible “Commission of Inquiry”, arguing that the government must clarify precisely what type of investigation is contemplated.
“Which Commission of Inquiry? Is the Government proposing a Commission of Inquiry established under the Commissions of Inquiry Act? Is it referring to the formal investigation provided for under Part XVIII of the Guyana Shipping Act? Or is it referring to the marine safety investigation required under the IMO Casualty Investigation Code?” she questioned.
She said that a marine safety investigation under the International Maritime Organization’s Casualty Investigation Code is mandatory following a “very serious marine casualty” and cannot be replaced by a Commission of Inquiry.
Walton-Desir also warned against delays in beginning the marine safety investigation, arguing that while a CoI could take time to establish and conduct, crucial evidence could be lost and witnesses’ memories could fade. She therefore called on the government to disclose what legal process has already been invoked, the legal authority under which it is proceeding, who has been appointed to conduct the marine safety investigation and how that process will be insulated from agencies or officials whose conduct may themselves come under scrutiny.
“The Government of Guyana does not enjoy the confidence of a significant portion of the Guyanese people. I certainly do not have confidence in the Government to investigate itself,” Walton-Desir said, noting that independence is particularly important because the MV Barima was a State-operated vessel and any credible investigation may have to scrutinise State agencies responsible for its operation and regulation.
Questions, she said, could arise over the vessel’s maintenance, surveys, certification, inspections, operational management and regulatory oversight. “If those matters are to be investigated, the Guyanese people must have confidence that the investigators are free to follow the evidence wherever it leads,” Walton-Desir said.
Disrupted arrangements
AFC executive and former APNU+AFC Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson reminded that the MV Barima was commissioned in 1936, with an estimated capacity of about 150 passengers and 290 tonnes of cargo, arguing that maintaining a vessel of that age was a critical public-safety issue. He said that up to 2020, repairs were undertaken by established contractors, including GNIC and Courtney Benn Contracting Services, with some structural components specially fabricated overseas.
According to him, those arrangements were disrupted after the PPP/C returned to office in 2020, with maintenance eventually being handled by another company whose main business was fishing. He stressed, however, that his concern was not an attack on the contractor. “The real issue is whether the critical link to specialist fabrication, replacement parts, and proven maintenance systems for a vessel of this age was broken.”
Patterson said the MV Barima underwent comprehensive rehabilitation between 2015 and 2017, including new engines and shafts, hull works and upgrades to passenger and cargo areas. He said maintenance records showed the vessel underwent required maintenance cycles and was considered seaworthy up to 2020. However, he said the former administration recognised that its remaining useful lifespan was limited and had moved, with financing from the Government of India, to procure a replacement vessel for the North West route.
He accused the PPP/C government of reversing the outcome of the previous procurement process and awarding the contract to a bidder that had initially been unsuccessful, resulting in the procurement of the MV Ma Lisha. Patterson argued that the newer vessel is not adequately suited to the North West route because of its size and design, while promised upgrades to docking facilities remain incomplete.
Patterson also raised concerns about ticketing, passenger manifests, cargo management and vessel loading, saying problems with people travelling without official tickets existed for years. He said that between 2015 and 2020, independent inspectors hired by the then Ministry of Public Infrastructure checked passengers, cargo, fuel and other operational matters, but that system was subsequently discontinued. “Had such a system remained in place, it may have helped prevent unsafe loading practices and other operational failures.”
He also called for modern docking facilities, a secure ticketing system and a programme to replace ageing vessels and upgrade ferry terminals. “This is not only about one vessel. It is about public safety, accountability, and the right of citizens in riverain and hinterland communities to travel with confidence. The people deserve answers, and they deserve a transport system that is safe, modern, reliable, and properly managed.”
Meanwhile, at a press conference on Tuesday, Kiskadee Watch questioned why planned works on the MV Barima had not been carried out before the tragedy, with the Prime Minister responding that the vessel had been moving through the procurement process for maintenance and was scheduled to enter dry dock during the latter half of 2026. “There’s a process where the tender; you have to go through a tender process. And then it passes through Cabinet for no objections,” he explained, noting that Cabinet had already granted its no-objection for the process to proceed.
According to him, the MV Barima was last refurbished in 2024, with provisions made for its next dry-docking and maintenance two years later, in 2026. “So this vessel, from all plans, would have been going into dry dock in keeping with the maintenance schedule,” he said, adding that the procurement process had already started.
But Patterson yesterday argued that maintaining an ageing vessel requires far more than cosmetic repairs; that simply dry-docking, sandblasting, painting and fumigating a vessel does not necessarily make it seaworthy.
He noted that critical components of the MV Barima, including the propeller drive shafts, previously had to be specially fabricated in Europe, underscoring the specialised maintenance required for the ageing vessel. “You can carry it into dry dock and the guy sprays it, sandblasts it and it looks nice and new and you send it back out, but the metal fatigue still remains because they haven’t done a good job,” Patterson said.
He therefore questioned the adequacy of rehabilitation works the government said were carried out in 2024, noting that the structural integrity of a vessel cannot be determined simply by its outward appearance. “You can have a lovely coat of paint, but it is leaking on the inside,” he said, pointing to reports from passengers that the MV Barima had been taking in water.
Apart from FGM and the AFC, the press conference also featured representatives from We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) and Vigilant Political Action Committee (VPAC). The A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) was not represented.
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