HGP NIGHTLY NEWS – The officer who received and handled the MV Barima’s first distress signal on the night of the tragedy had no training in coordinating joint aviation and maritime search-and-rescue operations, the Commission of Inquiry heard on Wednesday.
Aeronautical Information Service Officer Tia Valenzuela testified that she was on duty when the distress system began constantly beeping at approximately 10:43 p.m. on July 18.
Questioned by Commissioner Rear Admiral Hayden Pritchard about her qualifications and handling of the emergency, Valenzuela acknowledged that she had not been trained in coordinating joint air and maritime search-and-rescue operations.
She nevertheless told the Commission that managing the alert “wasn’t hard,” but noted that she had multiple responsibilities to perform at the time.
Valenzuela also revealed that the communication tools available to her were limited to WhatsApp, telephone and email.
Despite those limitations, records presented to the Commission indicate that she began contacting maritime authorities within minutes.
At 10:51 p.m., Valenzuela sent the Barima’s location coordinates via WhatsApp to Guyana Defence Force Coast Guard operations. The message was acknowledged at 10:52 p.m.
She also contacted the Lighthouse and Coast Guard Officer-in-Charge, Commander Shamshudeen.
By 11:13 p.m., the Coast Guard informed her that a vessel was “heading out” to the location. At 11:14 p.m., she emailed the beacon’s HEX identification information, which Commander Shamshudeen formally acknowledged at 11:23 p.m.
The Commission also heard that the MV Barima’s emergency beacon was not registered.
Valenzuela said the missing registration information meant she could not immediately identify or contact the beacon’s owner or a representative when the signal was received.
She further revealed that of approximately 10 distress signals she has handled during her tenure, only one came from a properly registered beacon.
The Commission has since requested operating procedures, communication records and an after-action report as it examines how the Barima distress alert was handled and the wider emergency response that followed.
Photo: Guyana Chronicle.
