Rescue teams have pulled 72 bodies from the water following the sinking of the MV Barima on the night of July 18, with 65 of those victims now identified. Authorities confirmed July 22 that 76 individuals survived the disaster, but Prime Minister Mark Phillips revealed a troubling discrepancy: he estimates 179 people were actually aboard the ferry, far exceeding the 133 documented on the official manifest, which listed 116 passengers and 17 crew members.
The yawning gap between recorded and actual passenger counts has become central to the investigation into Guyana’s deadliest maritime catastrophe in recent memory.
With dozens still missing and recovery operations stretching into their sixth day, the math grows grimmer: 179 estimated aboard minus 76 survivors and 72 confirmed dead leaves dozens of people unaccounted for, and the window for finding anyone alive is rapidly closing.
Crew Members Detained After Drug Tests
Police have arrested the vessel’s captain and at least one additional crew member following marijuana testing that returned positive results for both. At a July 19 press conference, Public Works Minister Juan Edghill spoke angrily about the government’s zero-tolerance policy regarding impaired vessel operation, saying he found the captain’s positive drug result particularly disturbing.
“Where negligence, misconduct or criminal wrongdoing is established, those responsible will face the full force of the law,” Phillips warned.
Both the incomplete passenger records and crew drug use are now under intense scrutiny as possible factors in the tragedy.
Death Toll Climbed Rapidly
Officials revised casualty numbers sharply upward July 21, leaping from 41 fatalities to 53. Prime Minister Mark Phillips announced another jump to 65 deaths on July 22. As of July 23, the search mobilized 19 vessels and three aircraft, along with diving specialists dispatched from Brazil, Trinidad and Tobago, and France, working alongside Guyanese teams. Private boats proved crucial in plucking survivors from the sea.
Survivor Lost Child in the Chaos
Elena Moonsammy told Kiskadee Watch she watched a massive wave slam into the ferry, tipping it violently. Within moments, water poured inside.
She held her two-year-old child’s hand but lost her grip in the chaos. Moonsammy managed to seize a floating box amid the debris and helped another woman reach it, telling her to hold on.
French Guiana sent 12 divers, two medics, and a mechanic to support recovery work, coordinated through the French army.
87-Year-Old Ship on Mining Route
The 40-meter (131-foot) ferry departed Georgetown, the capital, Saturday afternoon headed for Port Kaituma, a gold mining community nestled in dense rainforest in Guyana’s northern Essequibo region. According to VesselFinder’s shipping database, the vessel was built in 1939—making it 87 years old at the time it went down.
Ships traveling that route cross open ocean before entering a river that leads inland to Port Kaituma. An emergency call reached authorities at 11:01 p.m. in Guyana (3:01 a.m. GMT on July 19), triggering a combined response from government and civilian craft. Public Works Minister Juan Edghill called the disaster the worst maritime tragedy Guyana has experienced in decades, emphasizing that every effort continues to locate the missing. Rescuers recovered at least 15 children.
The ferry was bound for Essequibo, a territory at the heart of a longstanding dispute with Venezuela over oil-rich lands. The small English-speaking country in northeastern South America has consistently rejected claims from its larger neighbor.
Family members and friends of the missing have congregated along the shoreline, waiting desperately for information as hope fades with each hour.
