Wreck located 10 metres underwater as regulatory failures surface

(Kaieteur News) – The devastating July 18 capsizing of the MV Barima remained under scrutiny on Thursday as the Commission of Inquiry (COI) into the tragedy resumed at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, Liliendaal.

Testimony from Retired Captain John Flores, coordinator of the Emergency Operations Division at the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD), revealed operational gaps, a total lack of fundamental safety certification for government-operated ferries, and the precise physical location of the sunken vessel lying 10 metres (33 feet) underwater, nine miles offshore.

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The inquiry, chaired by Retired Justice Godfrey Smith, seeks to untangle the circumstances surrounding the disaster, which unfolded as the vessel traveled from Georgetown to Port Kaituma. While official passenger manifests initially listed 116 passengers and 17 crew members, figures later revised upward by authorities to 162 passengers and 17 crew, the tragedy ultimately claimed 73 lives. Thirty people remain unaccounted for, while 76 passengers survived.