HGP Nightly News – A five-member international Commission of Inquiry will determine whether negligence, misconduct, dereliction of duty or institutional failures contributed to the MV Barima disaster, President Irfaan Ali announced on Sunday.
The inquiry will examine responsibility at every level, from the loading and operation of the ferry to its maintenance, certification, regulation and the state’s search-and-recovery response.
Ali named Belizean jurist Justice Godfrey Phillip Smith to chair the commission, which includes specialists in naval architecture, marine engineering, vessel inspection, admiralty law and maritime security.
Smith previously served on the Commission of Inquiry into Guyana’s March 2, 2020 general and regional elections. He is a CARICOM High-Level Representative for Law and Criminal Justice and an ad hoc justice of the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal.
The other commissioners are Polish naval architect and marine engineer Dr. Andrzej Jasionowski, who has advised on investigations into major maritime disasters, and Captain Hamada Fouda, a senior maritime surveyor and compliance auditor with the Maritime Authority of Jamaica.
Trinidad and Tobago attorney Nyree Dawn Alfonso, who specialises in admiralty and maritime law, and retired Rear Admiral Hayden A. Pritchard, an experienced maritime operations and security professional, complete the panel.
The commission will determine its own procedures and working methods within its mandate, Ali said.
Its terms of reference require a full examination of the circumstances surrounding the July 18 capsizing, including the loading of cargo, boarding of passengers, conditions aboard the ferry and its eventual sinking.
The MV Barima was travelling to Port Kaituma with an estimated 179 passengers and crew members.
As of Sunday, 76 people had been rescued and 73 bodies recovered. At least 30 people remained unaccounted for.
The inquiry will inspect the 87-year-old vessel’s condition, seaworthiness and maintenance history. It will also review its surveys, certification, previous repairs and approval for continued passenger service.
Questions have been raised about the ferry’s age, scheduled dry docking and proposed repair works. Public Works Minister Juan Edghill has maintained that no report declared the vessel unfit and that it remained within its planned maintenance cycle.
Commissioners will also examine whether the ferry was overcrowded and whether its passenger and cargo records were accurate.
The original manifest did not list everyone aboard, leaving authorities unable during the early stages of the operation to determine precisely how many people were missing.
The inquiry will scrutinise who prepared and approved the manifest, how passengers were allowed to board, what cargo was loaded and whether its weight was properly recorded and distributed.
Its mandate also covers the storage and securing of cargo, the availability and accessibility of life-saving equipment, and compliance with established safety requirements.
The competence, qualifications, training and conduct of the captain and crew will be examined, along with their observance of navigation, safety and emergency procedures.
Environmental and operational conditions—including weather, waves, wind, tides, currents and communications—will also be analysed.
Survivors reported that a large wave struck or destabilised the ferry. The government has maintained that the MV Barima was not overloaded and experienced no engine or mechanical failure before it capsized.
The commission will be expected to test those claims against witness accounts, technical calculations, maintenance records and physical evidence from the wreck.
Its review will extend to the search, rescue and recovery operation, including the timing, coordination, adequacy and effectiveness of the response.
Government agencies, international partners, local fishermen, private boat owners, volunteers and Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed contributed personnel and equipment. Critics have nevertheless questioned the initial deployment of state aircraft and vessels and the extent to which the operation relied on private citizens.
The panel must determine whether individuals, businesses, regulators or other institutions complied with the laws, standards and procedures governing ferry operations.
Where failures are identified, it will assess whether they caused or contributed to the tragedy.
The commission will also recommend legislative, regulatory, institutional and operational reforms intended to strengthen maritime safety and emergency preparedness.
Ali said the legal instruments needed to formally establish the inquiry were being completed. The commission will begin working once that process is finalised.
Its composition provides the technical expertise repeatedly demanded since the disaster. The harder test will be whether it can follow responsibility beyond the vessel’s bridge and wharf, into every office where decisions affecting the MV Barima were made.
