MV Barima Disaster... 73 bodies found, 69 identified

What this source establishes

Kaieteur News reports the week's most detailed official briefing and explains where the 179 figure comes from: authorities reconstructed a working total from boarding-area surveillance footage rather than from the manifest. Prime Minister Phillips says delayed wharf upgrades at Port Kaituma prevented the newer MV Ma Lisha from serving the route. MARAD's Stephen Thomas says he cannot explain when or why the Barima's certified capacity was changed from its original 1938 rating of 120 tons of cargo and 150 passengers. No other source in this corpus reports that Venezuelan relatives dispute the government's burial account, alleging earthen graves against explicit wishes, or that Cabinet did not meet formally that week.

Figures cited in this source

73 bodies found, 69 identified, 63 released to families; 76 rescued; working total of 179 aboard; 22 funerals held

Key claims

• Prime Minister Mark Phillips confirmed the search expanded by an additional 32 square miles stretching west to Waini Point and east to Adventure.
• Seventeen state assets - three aircraft and 14 maritime vessels - remain engaged around the clock.
• Divers completed five dives on Friday, each lasting 45 to 60 minutes; one recovered a body, bringing the total found to 73, of whom 69 were positively identified and 63 released to families.
• Twenty-two funerals have been held so far.
• Phillips said the water 'is not only murky, but muddy' and visibility remains a major obstacle.
• Officials cautioned that righting the vessel 'may lead to us finding some more bodies'; no attempt to move the ferry had yet been made.
• Using boarding-area surveillance footage, authorities settled on a working total of 179 people aboard.
• Tombs have been built at Mabaruma and White Water for victims, including Venezuelan nationals; Venezuelan relatives say some family members were buried in earthen graves against their explicit wishes, contesting the official account.
• Kaieteur reports the MV Barima was built in 1938.
• The MV Barima was used on the Georgetown-to-Port Kaituma route because the newer MV Ma Lisha could not be accommodated there; wharf upgrades at Port Kaituma are behind schedule.
• Phillips conceded: 'The delay has contributed to us not being able to use the MV Ma Lisha to journey from Georgetown to Port Kaituma.'
• MARAD Director General Captain Stephen Thomas could not explain when or why the Barima's certified capacity changed from its original 1938 rating of 120 tons of cargo and 150 passengers, saying 'I don't have that information.'
• The Kalliope N was deployed into the operational area as a support platform and has since returned to Georgetown.
• Cabinet did not meet formally that week; an independent Commission of Inquiry will be established once the active recovery phase winds down.
• Phillips said T&HD staff connected to the vessel were placed on administrative leave, not fired.
• No foreign nationals had been officially confirmed among the dead, though authorities were checking the residency status of Spanish-speaking victims.

Quotations

• “The water is not only murky, but muddy”— Mark Phillips, Prime Minister
• “may lead to us finding some more bodies”— Mark Phillips, Prime Minister, on righting the wreck
• “The delay has contributed to us not being able to use the MV Ma Lisha to journey from Georgetown to Port Kaituma.”— Mark Phillips, Prime Minister
• “I don't have that information.”— Stephen Thomas, Director General, MARAD, on the change in certified capacity
• “I am tasked with prime ministerial duties... That decision lies with Minister Edghill and the President of Guyana.”— Mark Phillips, Prime Minister
• “Enforcing safety regulations is always a priority because, as the name implies, it brings some level of confidence and reassurance to the people who are using the facility”— Mark Phillips, Prime Minister

This page is a research summary prepared for comment and review. It is not the article. Copyright in the original remains with Kaieteur News; the full text is held only in the private research corpus from which this archive was compiled. Follow the link above to read it at the source.