The Guyana Police Force this morning filed 72 murder charges against the rescued Captain and a crew member from the MV Barima ferry tragedy, along with the Loading Superintendent from the Transport and Harbours Department.

The three men, 40-year-old Kevin Price, 42-year-old Rondell Dwayne Roberts, and 33-year-old Delon Granderson appeared in Court this morning and were remanded to jail following their brief appearance.

Granderson was the Loading Superintendent.

The MV Barima ferry sank on the night of Saturday 18th July during its journey from Georgetown to Port Kaituma.

The rescued Captain and one crew member were taken into custody after the Government said traces of a narcotic were reportedly found in their system during medical checks after they were rescued.

At the Courthouse this morning, the Captain broke down in tears as he was brought to the Court in handcuffs. While being taken to the Courtroom, the Captain said there were several issues with the vessel and he doesn’t understand why he is facing murder charges.

“I don’t deserve this Father God, Father God you answer my prayers this morning, answer my prayers Father God, I don’t deserve this please. Every body know thats an 87 year old vessel, the vessel got a lot of issues, the vessel don’t have a radar, the vessel don’t have a search and rescue transponder”, the man said, while adding that many of the problems with the vessel were known since 2022.

The other two accused remained silent during their Court appearance.

Attorney Dexter Todd appeared in Court on behalf of the accused and told reporters afterwards that the Defence team will be pushing for early disclosures in the matter.

“We know so far that the disclosure is that 72 bodies were recovered and so they were charged for all 72 of those deaths. We listened to the Prosecution narrate the facts in relation to why they were charged and who has what responsibility and that the boat was over loaded. Now you had the Minister who is responsible for transport and harbours, came out and said on public television that the boat was not overloaded and that was so pronounced. And in every single press conference held by the Prime Minister, there was absolutely no indication that they found in addition to the loading manifest that they were able to establish the load of that boat. Now you could imagine there was a clear pronouncement yesterday and the fears of the Guyanese people that we may not even see the boat back on water, so my thing is how do they hope to establish the weight of that boat”, Todd said.

He said it is now clear that the upcoming Commission of Inquiry may just be a farce.

“The Police have now done what the Commission of Inquiry is suppose to do and they have already come to a definitive conclusion on this matter. And so we have heard for an early disclosure. This matter was heard before the Chief Magistrate and it was transferred to the Charity Court, where it will be before the substantive Magistrate because that is the jurisdictional Court. And we have asked for early disclosure in the matter which will be on the 3rd August, because we intend to make preliminary legal arguments because this is a complete unfair and an injustice. The complexity of this matter, you could not have completed an investigation in this matter in such a short time”, Todd said.

The Attorney said it is clear that the Government and the Police have no interest in the merit of the case, and the charges are meant to keep the men in custody after two 72-hour extensions for having them in custody expired during the investigation.

Mr. Todd said charging the men may be an attempt to block them from testifying before the Commission of Inquiry into the ferry tragedy.

“The primary person who will have to talk is the Captain of the vessel, who would have to appear before the CoI. Now this man is in prison and that is what they hope to do, to drag him from prison in bangles and shackles before a CoI”, the Attorney said.

He also noted that the issue of sub judice may arise.

76 persons survived the tragedy, but at least 30 others remain missing. The Government has since announced that the sunken ferry may never be salvaged, as it pointed to the divers explaining the difficulty with the vessel’s position on the ocean bed and the poor visibility under water.

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