Jul 24, 2026 Editorial, News

(Kaieteur News) – The MV Barima disaster has exposed more than a maritime catastrophe. It has laid bare a shocking collapse of oversight, regulation and ministerial responsibility. Long after the waters settled, the nation is still asking the most basic question of all: How many people were actually on that vessel? The fact that no one in authority can answer that question with certainty is itself an indictment of the system.

Over 50 people are confirmed dead. Sixty-nine have been rescued. Yet no official can state definitively how many remain missing because the passenger manifest, the very document meant to account for every life aboard has been proven to be grossly inaccurate. Thirty-two rescued passengers were never listed.