MV Barima found in 33 feet of water, nine miles offshore

Emergency Operations Coordinator at the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD), Captain John Flores, told the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (COI) on Thursday that a survey vessel found the Barima lying on its starboard side about nine miles offshore, in roughly 33 feet of water.

During day seven of the inquiry at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC), Captain Flores showed the commissioners images of the ferry which sank on July 18.

“It shows that the vessel is lying on its side here. And here, the actual position of the vessel,” he said, pointing to the vessel’s crane that was visible on the scan.

From debris floating on the surface, he said search teams had a general idea of where the vessel went down. However, its exact position was not known until a vessel with scanning equipment surveyed the seabed.

The wreck was located at 4:00 pm on Monday, July 20. In his witness account, Captain Flores said the survey vessel was associated with ExxonMobil.

He estimated that the wreck is located about five miles from the first beacon coordinates, which had placed the distress signal roughly 10 miles off the Essequibo Coast.

Those first coordinates were not precise. Captain Flores explained that the satellite gave “three different plots of the same emission,” scattered over about four miles. The Coast Guard used that area for its initial search, before anyone knew a vessel was involved.

A MARAD pilot vessel later recovered the MV Barima’s emergency beacon. Captain Flores said it was handed to him and later collected by the Guyana Police Force (GPF).

The search and recovery operation continued until July 30, with assistance from the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard and a vessel from Brazil.

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