By Javone Vickerie | HGP Nightly News|
GEORGETOWN, GUYANA — The legal responsibility for certifying the M.V. Barima as seaworthy rested squarely with the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) and the subject ministry, not the three crew members currently facing 72 counts of murder, defense attorney and APNU Parliamentarian Dr. Dexter Todd argued during a special press conference on Thursday.
Speaking on behalf of the legal defense team representing Captain Kevin Price, Chief Mate Rondell Dwayne Roberts, and Transport and Harbours Department (T&HD) Goods Superintendent Delon Granderson, Dr. Todd asserted that laying capital murder charges against operational ranks is both premature and legally flawed under Guyana’s maritime framework.
Seaworthiness Certification Rested With Regulatory Bodies
Dr. Todd explained that under the Merchant Shipping Act and maritime governance laws, seaworthiness is determined through a formal statutory inspection process executed by MARAD and overseen at the ministerial level:
- Statutory Duty: Shipboard operational crew do not issue seaworthiness certificates or determine structural vessel integrity; that authority lies strictly with MARAD surveyors and inspectors.
- Premature Prosecution: Dr. Todd emphasized that charging the crew with murder prior to completing a mandatory statutory marine casualty investigation violates established legal procedure.
- Lack of Casualty Causation Findings: Until a formal technical investigation determines the exact physical cause of the capsizing, attributing criminal homicide to shipboard personnel lacks statutory grounding.
[ LEGAL DEFENSE & STATUTORY ARGUMENTS ]
│
┌───────────────────────────────────┴───────────────────────────────────┐
▼ ▼
[ Statutory Seaworthiness Authority ] [ Procedural & COI Conflicts ]
- Regulated by Maritime Administration Dept (MARAD) - Murder charges laid prior to technical marine casualty probe
- Approved & overseen at ministerial level - Sub judice conflict between Magistrates' Court & COI
- Operational crew lack authority to certify hull integrity - Defense awaiting COI rules before deciding crew testimony
Sub Judice Conflict and COI Participation
Dr. Todd also raised serious concerns regarding the overlap between the criminal proceedings in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court and the newly sworn-in international Commission of Inquiry (COI) led by Justice Godfrey Smith.
He pointed to the sub judice principle, questioning how his clients could safely testify before an administrative inquiry without compromising their constitutional right against self-incrimination in their ongoing murder trial:
“Seaworthiness of the vessel is determined through a formal regulatory process managed by MARAD and overseen by the subject minister,” Dr. Dexter Todd stated. “The decision to charge these men with murder was premature because the required maritime investigation had not first established how the vessel capsized. You cannot have it on both sides—no tribunal or commission should interfere with matters already under consideration by a criminal court.”
Dr. Todd concluded that his legal team is awaiting the formal legal instruments and procedural rules of the Commission of Inquiry before determining whether Captain Price, Roberts, and Granderson will participate or testify before the panel.
