HGP NIGHTLY NEWS – As survivors of the MV Barima fought for their lives in the dark waters off the Essequibo Coast, authorities were still trying to confirm that the vessel had departed Georgetown.
That striking timeline emerged from testimony by Guyana Defence Force Coast Guard Commanding Officer Commander David Shamsudeen before the Commission of Inquiry into the July 18 maritime disaster.
According to Shamsudeen, the first distress coordinates reached the Coast Guard Maritime Operations Centre at approximately 10:51 p.m.
At that stage, however, responders could not immediately establish that the distress signal was connected to the MV Barima.
Additional distress coordinates began arriving, while Coast Guard officials attempted to determine which vessel could have been in trouble.
At approximately 11:43 p.m., Director of the Maritime Rescue Coordination Center Captain Flores reportedly advised that there was a high possibility the distress involved the MV Barima, based on the route the vessel was expected to be travelling.
But formal confirmation that the MV Barima had departed Georgetown did not come until approximately 12:13 a.m. on July 19.
That was 82 minutes after the first distress coordinates reached the Coast Guard.
By that time, the emergency at sea was already unfolding.
Importantly, Shamsudeen’s testimony showed that the Coast Guard did not wait for formal confirmation before responding.
The first Coast Guard asset departed the Pomeroon floating base at approximately 11:40 p.m., while another team left Ruimveldt at 11:45 p.m. An interceptor departed Fort Island at approximately 11:50 p.m., followed by another headquarters vessel shortly after midnight.
The difficulty was determining exactly where the disaster had occurred.
Six different distress coordinates were received over approximately four hours, pointing towards different locations off the Essequibo Coast.
The first Pomeroon Coast Guard vessel reached the search area before 2:00 a.m., according to Shamsudeen.
As rescuers pushed through the darkness, a flare reportedly fired from a life raft eventually helped guide Petty Officer Jeromy Agard and his team towards people in the water.
While survivors were being located, however, the wreck itself remained missing.
The exact position of the sunken MV Barima was not formally pinpointed until 1:51 p.m. on July 20, more than a day after the disaster.
The timeline now provides the Commission with a clearer picture of the uncertainty responders faced in the immediate aftermath of the capsizing, when people were already in the water but authorities were still trying to confirm the vessel involved and establish exactly where it had gone down.
