By Antonio Dey | HGP Nightly News |
GEORGETOWN, GUYANA — Marked by raw grief, indignation, and mounting frustration over unfulfilled government timelines, families of the victims of the MV Barima maritime disaster took to the picket line on Tuesday outside the Ministry of Public Utilities and Aviation in Georgetown.
Armed with placards demanding justice, institutional transparency, and immediate operational clarity, relatives of both the 73 confirmed dead and more than 30 passengers and crew members who remain missing renewed their calls for the submerged vessel to be refloated.
The demonstration marks more than ten weeks since the ferry foundered on July 18, 2026. Protesters openly rebuked the administration’s reliance on monetary payouts, condemning what they characterized as an opaque and indifferent approach to recovering the hull and delivering closure to grieving households.
‘Jokey Money’: Bereaved Father Rejects State Payouts
Among the picketers was Royston Frank, father of 33-year-old missing sailor Rawle Frank, who went down with the vessel.
Frank revealed that he categorically refused to accept the state’s financial assistance package or sign release documents, insisting that financial compensation cannot replace state accountability or return his son:
- Rejection of Financial Relief: Frank dismissed state relief disbursements as an attempt to quiet public scrutiny, stating he refused to append his signature to legal waivers in exchange for compensation.
- Lack of Transparency on Bidding: Frank condemned the complete silence surrounding the Expression of Interest (EOI) tender process to salvage the vessel, which expired on August 14 with no contractor announced.
- Critique of Government Sloth: The father accused the administration of showing disregard for impoverished citizens who depend on state river transport.
“I don’t want nobody give me jokey money, I am not signing no paper,” Frank stated bluntly outside the ministry. “No ten, twenty, fifteen million can’t bring back me son.”
“This is heart-rending. This is showing you clearly that the government has no love for the poor people and we are seeing it day to day,” Frank added. “There is over 10 weeks, why, Mr. President, we cannot get the boat raised? We cannot hear back nothing about the bidding.”
Families Allege Communication Breakdowns with Transport and Harbours
The demonstration brought forward personal testimonies from relatives across coastal communities, including West Coast Berbice:
- The Harcourt Household: Allison Harcourt and Ashana McKenzie—the mother and sister of 22-year-old missing crewman Antoine Harcourt of Lichfield Village, West Coast Berbice—expressed dismay over what they described as callousness from the Transport and Harbours Department (T&HD).
- Uninitiated Contact: Allison Harcourt stated that state transport officials failed to establish proactive contact with her family regarding her son’s status, forcing her to initiate inquiries.
- Claims of Prior Mechanical Defects: McKenzie revealed that when T&HD officials eventually visited their Lichfield residence, representatives claimed they were entirely unaware that the vessel had operational defects prior to departing on its ill-fated voyage.
“It is so hard for me as I stand here… time cannot heal this pain,” McKenzie said. “And the President is saying that he is having sleepless nights—well, he will continue to have sleepless nights until the boat comes up. Transport and Harbours also came to our residence and tell us that they never knew the boat had fault.”
“Transport and Harbour did not call to say anything, I had to be the one who made contact with these people about my child,” his mother, Allison Harcourt, emphasized. “The President is not doing enough to float this vessel… closure for my son.”
Emotional Toll on Hinterland Families
The demonstration captured the emotional toll on families who lost multiple relatives in the disaster.
Galeann McPherson, grandmother of three young siblings—Annalisa, Odessa, and Justin Murray—who all remain missing, broke down in tears while describing the distress within her household:
- A Father Left Alone: McPherson shared that her son is struggling to cope with the sudden loss of all three of his children, whom he has been raising as a single parent following the earlier death of his wife.
- Plea to Raise the Hull: Weeping openly on the picket line, McPherson pleaded with executive authorities to commit the engineering resources required to raise the hull without further delay.
“I would like them to float the boat, the government must do something…” McPherson wept before being comforted by fellow demonstrators.
With the three senior crew members—Captain Kevin Price, Chief Mate Rondell Roberts, and Goods Superintendent Delon Granderson—currently remanded to prison ahead of their October 12 court appearance, the families affirmed that picket lines will continue outside state ministries until marine salvage teams are visibly mobilized on the water.
