Attorney-at-law Dexter Todd on Thursday claimed the State abandoned the legal framework governing maritime disasters by charging three MV Barima crew members with murder before completing the statutory investigation required under the Guyana Shipping Act, arguing that the prosecution is legally premature and vulnerable to challenge.

Speaking at a press conference on July 30, 2026, Todd, who represents Captain Kevin Price, Chief Mate Rondel Roberts, and Goods Superintendent Delon Granderson, contended that investigators and prosecutors abandoned the legal framework governing maritime disasters by proceeding directly to common law murder charges before determining the cause of the tragedy through the investigative mechanisms set out in the Shipping Act.

The charges stem from the July 18 sinking of the state-owned MV Barima, one of Guyana’s worst maritime disasters in recent history. The vessel capsized while on its scheduled voyage from Georgetown to Port Kaituma, Region One, with the Government stating that 116 passengers and 17 crew members—a total of 133 people—were on board. However, survivor accounts and estimates from relatives and opposition figures have suggested the actual number aboard may have been significantly higher.