…“criminal action” – Edghill in outrage as manifest irregularities now hamper rescue mission

The Guyana Government has launched a comprehensive investigation after it was revealed that the captain of MV Barima, which capsized off the Essequibo Coast on Saturday night with over 100 passengers onboard, along with at least two crew members were tested positive for cannabis. This comes as authorities are also grappling with an inaccurate passenger manifest. Initially, it was reported that there were 116 passengers along with 17 crew members on board the vessel, which capsized shortly before midnight on Saturday. Up to press time on Sunday, 67 persons – 41 males, 11 females and 15 children (six boys and 9 girls) – had been rescued. Authorities also confirmed the recovery of two bodies, including a female who was found washed up amongst the mangrove on the Essequibo Coast shoreline. But during a press briefing on Sunday evening, Prime Minister (PM) Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips, revealed the troubling discoveries made during rescue efforts.

Prime Minister Brig. (Ret’d) Mark Phillips along with Public Works Minister Juan Edghill, Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony and Human Services and Social Security Minister Vindhya Persaud at the press briefing on Sunday evening

“As rescue efforts progressed today [Sunday], authorities discovered that a number of individuals who were rescued were not listed on the vessel’s official manifest. Additionally, two rescued crew members tested positive for cannabis during medical examinations conducted by healthcare personnel,” PM Phillips stated. According to the PM, who was leading the Government’s emergency response efforts, these “deeply concerning and shocking developments” has prompted an immediate investigation. “The Government has ordered an urgent and comprehensive investigation involving members of the Guyana Police Force (GPF), the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) and other technical maritime experts,” he stated. Phillips told reporters at the press briefing that the team has already commenced the probe, which will examine all of the facts and circumstances surrounding this tragedy, including the accuracy of the passenger manifest, the loading of passengers and cargo, compliance with maritime safety regulations and the conduct of the captain and crew before and during the voyage.

No tolerance
“Let me be absolutely clear, where negligence, misconduct, or criminal wrongdoing is established, those responsible will face the full force of the law. There will be no exceptions and no tolerance for actions that placed innocent lives at risk,” PM Phillips declared. Meanwhile, these revelations were described by Public Works Minister Juan Edghill as “criminal action,” as he too made it clear that no effort would be spared, especially in ensuring that those responsible are brought to justice. “To be confronted with a reality that, despite an official manifest was given to us, persons who were rescued were not manifested, that is a criminal action… And we’re taking action in that regard because life is important and nobody for the want of a few extra dollars can cheat a system or do whatever mischief you want. [This] has compromised the entire search and rescue operation because we are looking for 133 persons…[but] we don’t really know the real number right now,” an outraged Edghill contended. Moreover, the Public Works Minister went onto add, “…we have a zero tolerance for members of the crew drinking or smoking while at work. And for us to have positive tests from the Captain, I could understand a sailor, but not a captain. This is serious. People’s lives are at risk and those matters will be dealt with.” The captain along with the first engineer and a sailor were all rescued and while’s undergoing medical checkup, they were tested for alcohol use and drugs.

Following the positive results for drugs, all three of them were taken into police custody at the Anna Regina Police Station in Region Two (Pomeroon Supenaam), where they remained overnight. Another crew member, the mate, who is the second most senior person on board after the captain, was also rescued and assisted the search and rescue teams. He too was tested but nothing was found. Initially, Edghill had reported earlier on Sunday that, based on information received including from both crew and surviving passengers, MV Barima had capsized due to the rough Atlantic waters, which tilted the vessel and causing it to go under water.
But Director of the MARAD, Captain Stephen Thomas, explained during the late-night briefing that while rough waves and winds could cause a vessel to heel (rock to the sides), it should return to an upright position once there is “positive stability.”
It was noted that the investigation would unearth whether they intoxicated state of the Captain and crew members had a role in the vessel capsizing, which according to survivors occurred in less than a minute.

Mischief
In fact, out of the 67 survivors who were rescued, only 35 of them were listed on the passenger manifest. This, according to the Public Works Minister, is nothing but pure “mischief” by staff of the Transport and Habours Department (THD).
“We can’t excuse it, [it’s] mischief… There’s a traffic manager that manages the Kingston goods wharf. There’s a superintendent that is responsible for loading the vessel, whether it’s cargo or passengers. And then there’s an officer responsible for revenue because if you’re putting on cargo, you got to pay for it. And if persons are going on the boat, they got to be paid… Those persons are now the subject of an investigation. What action will be taken will be determined by the outcome [of the probe,” he noted.
Edghill further indicated that immediately following the press briefing, he would be meeting with senior officials of the THD including all the managers of the various departments.

Search and rescue mission continues
Meanwhile, the search and rescue mission continues with assistance from both state agencies as well as the private sector. In fact, ExxonMobil Guyana has made available a vessel equipped with a scanner that can detect life underwater. However, the search is also still underway to locate the vessel, which has sunk.
Divers have also been deployed as the search and rescue efforts were expanded from an initial 400-square-kilometre area to 1070 square kilometres (km). Additionally, local fisherfolks have also joined the efforts to locate remaining passengers.

Injuries
Meanwhile, Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony said on Sunday evening, that most of the persons rescued received minor injuries. However, four persons were kept overnight in the hospital for further observation.
The MV Barima is licensed to carry 284 tonnes of cargo and up 397 passengers. The initial cargo manifesto indicated that some 268 tonnes on board – a figure authority were reviewing given the inaccuracies detected.
Similarly, efforts were being made up to late Sunday night to ascertain the true number of passengers on board the vessel.
While the Government has released the full list of the 67 survivors as well as the passenger manifest, members of the public who had relatives or know anyone that were on board the vessel but is not named on either list to contact the authorities.
The Government has established three Emergency Family Assistance Centres across the country. These centres are located at the Umana Yana in Kingstown, Georgetown; at the Port Kaituma Community Centre in Region One and at the NAREI Extension Centre in Kumaka, Mabaruma also in Region One.

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