Guyana ferry disaster inquiry hears emergency beacon was unregistered
Key Points(5)
- Guyana’s Commission of Inquiry (COI) into the July 18 ferry disaster that left dozens dead has heard that the vessel’s emergency beacon was not registered, limiting authorities’ ability to identify it through registration records.
- Rickford Samaroo, director of the Air Navigation Services Department at the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), testified on Wednesday that the agency had no registration information for the beacon aboard the MV Barima.
- “From our side, it wasn’t registered,” Samaroo said in response to questions from Trinidad and Tobago maritime law expert Nyree Alfonso.
- The disclosure came as the commission examined how distress alerts were handled and how quickly authorities became aware of the incident.
- Samaroo said distress alerts began arriving at 10:43 p.m.
Guyana’s Commission of Inquiry (COI) into the July 18 ferry disaster that left dozens dead has heard that the vessel’s emergency beacon was not registered, limiting authorities’ ability to identify it through registration records.
Rickford Samaroo, director of the Air Navigation Services Department at the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), testified on Wednesday that the agency had no registration information for the beacon aboard the MV Barima.
“From our side, it wasn’t registered,” Samaroo said in response to questions from Trinidad and Tobago maritime law expert Nyree Alfonso.
The disclosure came as the commission examined how distress alerts were handled and how quickly authorities became aware of the incident.
Samaroo said distress alerts began arriving at 10:43 p.m. on July 18, but he did not learn of the incident until a call from the GCAA’s director general at about 1 a.m. on July 19. He said he was informed that a vessel might be in distress and that two aircraft had been authorized to investigate.
Samaroo explained that staff were required to notify him immediately of distress signals involving aircraft, but there was no equivalent requirement for alerts involving vessels.
He later contacted the airport control tower to advise that the aircraft had been cleared to proceed. During that conversation, he learned of the distress messages received from the United States.
According to the briefing he received from staff, the Maritime Administration Department, the Guyana Defence Force Coast Guard and the lighthouse were notified within five minutes of the alert being received.
Registration gap complicated identification
Tia Valenzuela, an aeronautical information service officer at the GCAA, told the commission that she was on duty at the control tower at Cheddi Jagan International Airport when she heard a continuous beeping at 10:43 p.m. on July 18. She said she printed a related message.
However, the absence of registration information meant she could not contact the vessel’s owner or other relevant parties about the beacon.
Samaroo said an unregistered beacon’s identification code could not be matched to records containing details about the vessel, its owner and emergency contacts.
The GCAA receives distress alerts through an arrangement with the United States Mission Control Center as part of the international satellite search and rescue system. Messages include the beacon’s identification code, the date and time of transmission, geographical coordinates and an indication of the location’s reliability.
An Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) is designed to transmit distress signals during maritime emergencies. Operating on the 406 MHz frequency, it uses the international Cospas-Sarsat satellite system to help search and rescue authorities locate people in danger.
Although an unregistered beacon can still transmit a distress signal and location information, the absence of registration records can make it more difficult for authorities to identify the vessel and contact people familiar with its movements.
Disputed passenger count
The MV Barima was traveling from Georgetown to Port Kaituma, a village in Guyana’s Barima-Waini region, when the incident occurred.
The vessel was reportedly carrying an estimated 179 passengers and crew when it sank. Authorities recovered 72 bodies, rescued 76 people and reported 30 others unaccounted for. The figures have been disputed, with questions remaining about the number of people aboard.
In the aftermath of the tragedy, the vessel’s captain, chief mate and a Goods Superintendent with the Transport and Harbours Department were charged with murder.
Retired acting Chancellor Carl Singh has also indicated that he would represent Public Works Minister Bishop Juan Edghill at the commission.
The five-member inquiry is chaired by Belizean Justice Godfrey Phillip Smith and is tasked with establishing the circumstances surrounding the disaster.
Its mandate includes examining the vessel’s loading and passenger boarding procedures, conditions aboard the ferry, the circumstances of its capsizing and sinking, and the adequacy of search, rescue and recovery operations.
The commission will also investigate the vessel’s seaworthiness and maintenance history, the competence of its crew, and whether negligence, misconduct, dereliction of duty or other failures contributed to the disaster.
Samaroo is among approximately 100 witnesses expected to testify before the commission, whose initial two-month timeline has been extended to six months.
Meanwhile, media organizations have been invited to cover and record the daily hearings but will not be permitted to broadcast them live.
Commission Secretary Javed Shadick did not provide a reason for the decision.
