Guyana President Irfaan Ali on Sunday named a five-member international Commission of Inquiry (CoI) to investigate the MV Barima tragedy.
The panel includes specialists from Belize, Poland, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago. It will examine the July 18 capsizing, the circumstances leading to the disaster, the response operation, and related maritime safety issues.
“The members have been carefully selected for their independence, technical expertise, and proven ability,” Ali said in an earlier announcement on Saturday.
The CoI will examine the vessel’s loading, passenger boarding procedures, onboard conditions, seaworthiness, maintenance history, and compliance with maritime laws and safety standards. It will also assess the conduct and competence of the master and crew, passenger management, lifesaving arrangements, and possible operational factors.
Ali said the panel will determine its own procedures and method of work. It will also review the coordination and effectiveness of the search, rescue, and recovery operation.
“The CoI will be chaired by Justice Godfrey Phillip Smith of Belize. He currently serves as the CARICOM High-Level Representative for Law and Criminal Justice and as an Ad Hoc Justice of the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal,” Ali said.
The panel’s technical expertise includes naval architecture, marine engineering, vessel surveying, and regulatory compliance.
“Other members of the CoI include Dr Andrzej Jasionowski of Poland, a naval architect and marine engineer, and Captain Hamada Fouda, Senior Maritime Surveyor and Compliance Auditor at the Maritime Authority of Jamaica,” Ali said.
The remaining appointments add expertise in maritime law, operations, and security.
“Also appointed to serve are Ms Nyree Dawn Alfonso of Trinidad and Tobago, an attorney-at-law with expertise in Admiralty and Maritime Law and Rear Admiral (Ret’d) Hayden Pritchard of Trinidad and Tobago, an expert in Maritime Operations and Security,” Ali said.
The commission will be empowered to determine whether negligence, misconduct, dereliction of duty, or institutional failures contributed to the tragedy. It will also recommend accountability and propose legislative, regulatory, institutional, or operational reforms aimed at preventing another disaster.
The appointment follows more than a week of search-and-recovery operations involving divers, vessels, aircraft, and technical teams.
A body was recovered from inside the MV Barima during diving operations on Friday, increasing the number of bodies recovered to 73. Of that total, 69 had been positively identified and 63 had been released to their families.
Authorities have confirmed that 76 people survived. Based on the government’s estimate that 179 people were aboard, 30 remained unaccounted for after Friday’s recovery. Officials were continuing to reconcile the names of survivors and those recovered with the vessel’s manifest.
The vessel remained on its side as poor underwater visibility affected efforts to search its interior and prepare it for a possible righting operation. Fourteen vessels and three aircraft were supporting the operation.
