“We Went Out Looking for the Living”: Horror at Sea During M.V. Barima Rescue Operation

By Travis Chase | HGP Nightly News|

CHARITY, ESSEQUIBO COAST — When news first broke that the state-operated M.V. Barima had capsized off the Essequibo Coast, private boat operators across the Pomeroon riverine network launched their vessels without hesitation, racing toward open water with the hope of saving lives.

What greeted them at the wreckage grid, however, was a scene of devastating heartbreak. Instead of pulling survivors from the water, civilian captains were confronted with dozens of bodies drifting in the rough swells.

Civilian Captains Recount Recovery Efforts

• Errol Norton (Private Operator): Norton reported that his crew personally recovered more than five bodies that had drifted away from the primary wreckage zone. He raised concerns regarding the handling of deceased victims after they were handed over to the Coast Guard and noted that the only support provided to private operators was fuel supplied through the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Coast Guard.
• David Freeman (Private Operator): Expressed deep emotional trauma after setting out on what he believed would be a rescue mission. Freeman emphasized that without the immediate deployment of local civilian boats, many victims would have drifted much farther out to sea.
• Dellon Marcus (Private Operator): Pushed his vessel further offshore into deep water searching for survivors until fading daylight and nightfall forced his crew to halt operations.

                       [ POMEROON VOLUNTEER RESCUE EFFORTS ]
                                         │
       ┌─────────────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────────────┐
       ▼                                                                   ▼
 [ Immediate Civilian Mobilization ]                            [ Search Grid Realities ]
 - Pomeroon river captains launch private boats                 - Shifted rapidly from rescue to recovery
 - Navigated rough coastal swells without delay                 - Recovered floating bodies miles from wreck
 - GDF Coast Guard provided fuel assistance                      - Local knowledge prevented bodies drifting out to sea

Calls for Recognition, Compensation, and Local Integration

As the multi-agency search and recovery effort shifts toward technical salvage, private operators are calling on the government to acknowledge the vital role played by local river communities during the critical first hours of the disaster:

“We went out expecting to pull living people out of the water, but everywhere you looked was bodies floating,” boat operator David Freeman stated during his interview. “Without the private operators who know these waters, many of those bodies would have been lost far out to sea. The government should continue using local knowledge and consider compensating those who volunteered their boats and time.”

For the private captains of the Pomeroon, what began as a heroic mission to save lives quickly transformed into a tragic recovery operation—one that will leave lasting scars on Guyana’s riverine communities.