Recovered MV Barima EPIRB carried sticker urging vessel registration

(Kaieteur News) – A manufacturer’s warning sticker fixed to the MV Barima’s emergency locator beacon urging owners to “be responsible, be safe, complete your beacon registration” fell on deaf ears, and when questioned about the process on Monday before the Commission of Inquiry (COI), Christopher Bailey, surveyor of ships and acting Marine Superintendent for MARAD admitted he did not know who vessel owners are supposed to register the safety devices with.

Appearing before the five-member panel at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, Bailey, was questioned directly by Commission Chair Godfrey Smith regarding a label found on the retrieved Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB).

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When asked by Chair Smith what the sticker meant, Bailey explained, “That would be a sticker by the manufacturer… it means to get your beacon registered. When you purchase your beacon from the manufacturer it’s then registered to the vessel, so I guess this is maybe just a reminder.”