HGP Nightly News – Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed says he is prepared to personally fund an operation to recover the sunken MV Barima if the government grants him permission.
“Give me permission and I will raise it,” Mohamed declared, arguing that leaving the wreck on the seabed while people remain missing would abandon grieving families and potentially place critical evidence beyond investigators’ reach.
His offer follows remarks from Prime Minister Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips that the vessel is likely to remain where it sank because raising it would be difficult and dangerous.
French divers who conducted approximately 15 dives at the site reported powerful currents, almost no visibility and an unstable structure that may not withstand extensive lifting or handling.
Mohamed described the apparent decision not to pursue salvage as “premature and wicked.”
He said families of missing passengers had contacted him and pleaded for the vessel to be searched or recovered more thoroughly.
According to Mohamed, relatives want any remains that can be found, even if only bones, so they can bury their loved ones and gain some measure of closure.
For those families, he said, the MV Barima cannot simply be left on the ocean floor or turned into a memorial while the fate of their relatives remains unresolved.
Mohamed also argued that recovering or preserving the vessel could provide crucial physical evidence for the Commission of Inquiry.
The inquiry must determine whether the ferry’s condition, loading, cargo distribution, safety equipment or other operational failures contributed to the capsizing.
Leaving the wreck underwater could restrict experts’ ability to examine its internal compartments, machinery and structural condition, he contended.
The government has not announced that evidence from the wreck will be abandoned. Divers have searched inside and around the vessel, while technical teams have assessed whether it can be repositioned or raised safely.
Phillips has said deploying additional divers would not necessarily change the conditions documented by the Guyanese and French teams.
Mohamed maintained that the government had not demonstrated that it exhausted every salvage option or approached all available international specialists.
No engineering proposal supporting his offer was made public. Any attempt to lift the wreck would require a detailed technical plan, regulatory approval, specialist equipment and safeguards for divers and other workers.
The operation would also need to preserve the vessel as evidence for the Commission of Inquiry and the ongoing criminal proceedings.
Mohamed separately repeated his allegation that the MV Barima was overloaded.
He challenged Public Works Minister Juan Edghill’s interpretation of the vessel’s capacity, contending that the minister referred to its gross tonnage rather than its deadweight.
Gross tonnage relates to a vessel’s internal volume, while deadweight measures the weight it can carry, including cargo, fuel, passengers and supplies.
Mohamed alleged that publicly released figures showed the ferry carrying approximately 268 tonnes despite a reported deadweight capacity of 198 tonnes.
The figures remain disputed. The government has maintained that the vessel was not overloaded, while MARAD has cited its load line and certification in support of that position.
Mohamed also referred to alleged concerns about the vessel’s safety systems, including its emergency beacon, search-and-rescue transponder, anchor, radar and life rafts.
Those claims have not yet been established and will require examination against inspection, certification and maintenance records.
The Commission of Inquiry is expected to resolve those questions.
