By Javone Vickerie | HGP Nightly News|
GEORGETOWN, GUYANA — Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed has offered to personally fund an operation to raise the sunken state-operated M.V. Barima, labeling government suggestions to leave the vessel on the ocean floor as “premature and wicked.”
Speaking in response to statements by Prime Minister Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips—who indicated that the 87-year-old ferry’s degraded hull and hazardous underwater currents make salvaging too dangerous—Mohamed insisted that he is prepared to cover the full financial cost of the recovery effort if granted permission by maritime and government authorities.
Recovering Victims’ Remains and Preserving Physical Evidence
Mohamed emphasized that abandoning the vessel where it rests approximately 50 feet below the surface deprives grieving families of closure while potentially destroying vital physical evidence required by the newly appointed five-member international Commission of Inquiry (COI) led by Justice Godfrey Smith.
[ SALVAGE OFFER & EVIDENCE ARGUMENTS ]
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[ Recovery of Remains ] [ Technical Evidence Preservation ]
- Account for ~30 missing passengers - Inspection of physical hull condition
- Provide formal closure for families - Exact cargo weight & stowage audit
- Avoid leaving wreck as an unrecovered site - Examination of engine room & steering gear
Opposition Questions Reluctance Behind Salvage Operation
The Opposition Leader questioned whether technical difficulties were the sole reason authorities appeared hesitant to proceed with raising the vessel, suggesting that physical inspection of the hull could clarify ongoing disputes regarding overloading and structural defects:
“Give me permission to float the vessel and I will personally finance it,” Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed declared. “To abandon the M.V. Barima while citizens remain unaccounted for is premature and wicked. Families deserve closure, and the Commission of Inquiry needs physical access to the vessel and the cargo it was carrying to determine the truth.”
Mohamed argued that state authorities have not demonstrated that all international salvage expertise has been exhausted, challenging Minister of Public Works Bishop Juan Edghill’s statements regarding the vessel’s internal volume and loading capacity.
Government Maintains Safety Focus
While French and local dive teams completed roughly 15 dives under zero-visibility conditions, state officials maintain that the vessel’s weakened structural integrity presents severe collapse and entanglement risks for salvage crews.
However, with Opposition Leader Mohamed offering private capital to fund the recovery and calls mounting from victim families for a definitive resolution, pressure continues to build on the government regarding its final determination on the wreckage.
