Patterson Challenges Marad To Produce MV Barima’s 394-Passenger Safety Certificate

By Javone Vickerie | HGP Nightly News|

GEORGETOWN, GUYANA — Alliance For Change (AFC) Leader and former Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson has challenged the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) to immediately publish the official passenger safety certification supporting its claim that the 87-year-old state ferry M.V. Barima could carry up to 394 passengers.

Speaking at a joint opposition briefing, Patterson accused MARAD Director General Stephen Thomas of shifting capacity figures post-disaster to deflect from severe overbooking and safety oversights.

Patterson argued that official maritime documentation and historical records establish the ferry’s design capacity at approximately 150 passengers and 290 metric tons of cargo—not the 394 figure cited by state officials following the fatal capsizing off the Essequibo Coast.

Fixed Certification vs. “Sliding Scale” Explanations

Rebuffing explanations offered by state regulators that passenger capacity fluctuates based on cargo volume, Patterson emphasized that certified passenger limits are legally fixed based on life-saving apparatus and stability parameters:

• Fixed Life-Saving Capacity: Patterson pointed out that life-saving equipment—including life vests, rafts, and buoy stations—is stocked to match a vessel’s certified passenger ceiling. He questioned how MARAD could claim a 394-passenger capacity when the vessel was equipped with significantly fewer life jackets.
• Stability Calculations: Design parameters, structural loading tables, and center-of-gravity calculations dictate maximum passenger counts, which cannot simply be inflated when cargo holds are underfilled.
• Calculation Responsibility: Patterson rejected assertions that ship captains should perform impromptu loading math at the dock, emphasizing that approved stability documentation created by MARAD must govern vessel departures.

                       [ PASSENGER CAPACITY DISCREPANCY ]
                                       │
       ┌───────────────────────────────┴───────────────────────────────┐
       ▼                                                               ▼
 [ MARAD Director General Statement ]                           [ AFC Leader David Patterson Challenge ]
 - Cites 394-passenger certified ceiling                        - Asserts design capacity is capped at ~150
 - Claims capacity shifts based on cargo weight                 - Demands publication of Passenger Safety Certificate
 - Maintains load line was within limits                        - Cites insufficient life jackets for 394 travelers

Demands for Immediate Public Disclosure

To resolve the conflicting accounts between state administrators and maritime records, Patterson called on MARAD to release three key documents to the public:

1. The Official Passenger Safety Certificate: Confirming the statutory maximum passenger count.
2. Approved Loading Tables & Stability Calculations: Detailing weight distribution limits for the Northwest ferry route.
3. The Master Cargo Manifest & Weight Computation: Clarifying how MARAD authorized approximately 268 metric tons of cargo alongside hundreds of passengers on the ill-fated voyage.

“You cannot use a sliding scale for human lives,” Patterson stated. “A vessel is certified for a finite number of passengers based on its life-saving gear and stability. MARAD needs to produce the certificate and show the nation the exact technical calculations used to justify putting over 300 people on that ship.”

As police ranks compile survivor statements and cross-reference passenger lists, demands for full technical disclosure from MARAD continue to grow across civil society.