By Javone Vickerie | HGP Nightly News|
GEORGETOWN, GUYANA — The submerged M.V. Barima is unlikely to be salvaged from the Essequibo seabed due to the vessel’s fragile structural state and hazardous underwater conditions, Prime Minister Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips has indicated.
Speaking on the sidelines of Monday’s parliamentary sitting, Prime Minister Phillips cited operational reports from the specialized French diving unit that conducted approximately 15 dives on the 87-year-old wreck resting roughly 50 feet underwater. The assessment presents a painful reality for grieving families awaiting news of roughly 30 relatives who remain unaccounted for.
Technical Hazards Preclude Salvage Operations
The decision follows extensive tactical evaluation by Guyanese and French naval divers who encountered severe environmental and mechanical obstacles at the site:
- Structural Fragility: Built in 1939, the ferry’s aged and degraded hull structure poses a high risk of disintegrating under the mechanical stresses required to hoist it to the surface.
- Zero Visibility & Mud Silt: Seabed sediment, churned mud, and total light deprivation inside the sunken decks have rendered visual navigation impossible.
- Extreme Currents & Entanglement Risks: Powerful Essequibo coastal tides continue to strain safety lines, while submerged cargo, loose rigging, and hammocks present severe entanglement traps for dive personnel.
[ SALVAGE ASSESSMENT & FAMILY DECISION OPTIONS ]
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[ Technical Salvage Feasibility ] [ Final Determination Framework ]
- 87-year-old hull structure lacks mechanical strength - International salvage proposals received
- Zero visibility and heavy Essequibo tidal forces - Government consulting affected families
- Diving operations suspended due to high risk - Potential designation as an offshore memorial site
Government Seeks Family Input on Designation as Memorial Site
While international salvage companies have submitted proposals to assist the administration, Prime Minister Phillips clarified at a subsequent press briefing that the government will ultimately align its decision with the wishes of the victims’ families.
Several relatives gathered at the Charity waterfront have expressed a preference for the site of the tragedy to be designated an official offshore memorial.
“The local divers, the French divers, they are the best, and they went inside and outside the vessel—just listen to their report, it is difficult,” Prime Minister Mark Phillips stated. “There are several proposals for the salvaging of the vessel, but it is the wishes of the family that are important at this stage. If there is an indication from the families that they prefer the area to be deemed a memorial site, then we go with that option.”
The Prime Minister confirmed that the work of the newly appointed five-member international Commission of Inquiry, chaired by Belizean jurist Justice Godfrey Smith, will proceed regardless of whether the physical wreckage is raised or remains on the ocean floor.
