HGP Nightly News – The government has removed from duty the entire management team responsible for loading, dispatching and supervising the MV Barima, saying the action is necessary to protect evidence as investigators examine the ferry’s deadly capsizing.
Prime Minister Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips said the decision was intended to prevent possible interference with documents, recordings and other material that may be relevant to the investigation.
The officials have not been found culpable, and their removal should not be treated as a finding of negligence or wrongdoing. Further administrative or criminal action will depend on the investigation’s outcome.
The Guyana Police Force has secured surveillance footage from the Kingston Goods Wharf, where the MV Barima was loaded before departing for Port Kaituma on Saturday afternoon.
Investigators are expected to use the recordings to reconstruct the loading and boarding process, identify those who entered the vessel and determine what occurred before its departure.
Public Works Minister Juan Edghill also convened a late-night meeting with senior officials of the Transport and Harbours Department, including the general manager. Those present were informed of the administrative action and the next stages of the investigation.
The inquiry is expected to examine the passenger and cargo manifests, loading procedures, compliance with maritime safety requirements and the conduct of the captain, crew and shore-based officials.
Authorities initially reported that 116 passengers and 17 crew members were aboard the ferry. Doubts later emerged about those figures after several rescued passengers could not be found on the official manifest.
Edghill said only 35 of the 67 people rescued were recorded on the passenger list. The discrepancy has complicated the search operation because authorities cannot yet say with certainty how many people were aboard when the vessel capsized.
The captain and first engineer were taken into police custody after reportedly testing positive for narcotics. Those results and the circumstances surrounding the tests are expected to be examined during the investigation. Neither man has been convicted of an offence connected to the incident.
Two deaths had been confirmed by Sunday night as search teams continued looking for those still missing.
Phillips said the inquiry would examine the accuracy of the manifest, the loading of cargo, compliance with safety regulations and the actions of the crew before and during the voyage.
The government has promised accountability wherever negligence or criminal conduct is established.
Removing the management team may help preserve the investigation, but it also raises difficult questions about the controls at the Kingston wharf. Investigators will now have to determine how unlisted passengers were allegedly allowed aboard, whether cargo and ticketing procedures were followed, and who approved the ferry’s departure.
The credibility of the promised transparent investigation will ultimately depend on whether its findings are released publicly and supported by the surveillance footage, manifests, safety records and other evidence now being secured.
