‘Blood on Their Hands’: Gopaul Says Tender Documents Show Govt Sent MV Barima to Sea Instead of Dry Dock

The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Government knowingly placed lives at risk by allowing the MV Barima to continue operating despite documented evidence that the vessel required extensive structural and mechanical repairs, according to Village Voice News in-house political scientist, Randy Gopaul.

Describing the disaster as one of the worst waterway tragedies in post-Independence Guyana, Gopaul said the tender documents released by Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed paint a disturbing picture of a vessel that should have been in dry dock—not carrying passengers to Port Kaituma.

“The PPP Government has blood on its hands for putting a non-seaworthy vessel on the waterways rather than in dry dock for the repairs its own internal documents recommended,” Gopaul said. “If these documents are authentic, they suggest the Government knowingly exposed passengers and crew to unacceptable risks.”