MV Barima Inquiry: Survivors Had No Life Jackets as Accountability Questions Mount

The Commission of Inquiry into the MV Barima disaster is confronting critical questions about passenger safety, emergency preparedness and the adequacy of the rescue response, with testimony that none of the 26 survivors rescued by one Coast Guard team was wearing a life jacket intensifying scrutiny of the circumstances surrounding the tragedy.

The revelation, delivered by Coast Guard Petty Officer Jeromey Agard on October 19, raises a fundamental question about the disaster: why were so many survivors struggling in the water without life jackets, and were adequate safety measures in place before the vessel went down?

Agard described survivors clinging to objects to stay afloat, including a group of approximately three people holding onto a life jacket.