Emergency beacon that dispatched MV Barima distress signals was recovered hours after tragedy

The Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) that sent multiple alerts to the authorities indicating that a vessel was in distress on July 18, was recovered hours after the MV Barima sank off the Essequibo Coast.

This is according to the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) Marine Superintendent, Christopher Bailey, who appeared before the MV Barima Commission of Inquiry (COI) today at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre.

The beacon, which sent distress signals to the United States Mission Control Centre (USMCC) indicating that a vessel was in distress in Guyanese waters, was recovered by Bailey at around 3:30hrs on July 19, 2026 at approximately 3-4 nautical miles from the initial coordinates.

Guyana’s Aeronautical Information Service (AIS) Unit at the Timehri Control Tower had provided the coordinates to both the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Coast Guard and MARAD after receiving the distress alerts from the USMCC at 10:43pm on July 18.

Bailey told the Commission that he was on one of three vessels dispatched by MARAD to the location following the tragedy – when he observed a faint light in the water.

“At approximately 3:30am to 4am in the morning, I would have seen a faint light from it, and I proceeded to that device. I didn’t know at the time what it was. When I got there, I discovered that it was indeed the EPIRB in the water. So, I immediately removed it. It wasn’t attached to any debris, it wasn’t attached to the vessel, it wasn’t attached to any life raft. It was found with no survivors. It was just afloat in the water. So, I retrieved it,” Bailey told the Commission.

The Commission heard that once the beacon was out of the water and onboard the pilot vessel, it immediately deactivated.

“When I brought it on board, it immediately deactivated. It was not deactivated by me. It was not activated by me. It was in the water. I took it out, it deactivated immediately,” Bailey testified.

The emergency locator device transmits coded distress signals to the international Cospas-Sarsat Satellite Network, which alerts rescue authorities.

Bailey explained to the Commission that the emergency beacon activates once it is submerged under 1-4 meters of water, and would then float to the surface, giving off a distress alert.

On November 17, 2025 Bailey had done an inspection on the MV Barima and had seen a beacon in the wheel house, which was located on the starboard side of the of the MV Barima. He testified that at the time, the beacon was in a white float-free casing, which activates when a vessel sinks.

In response to queries by Commissioner Andrzej Jaisonowski, Bailey said it was likely that at the time the AIS Unit received the distress alert, the MV Barima was sinking.

“So, when we were told that the first EPIRB signal was received by 10:43pm… the device was submerged, so that was the moment when the starboard side is in the water?” Commissioner Jaisonowski asked with Bailey responding in the affirmative.

Bailey had also assisted with the search and rescue operations. He told the Commission that by the time, he had arrived on seen in the Haiama pilot vessel, a number of other vessels were already at the location.

He found no survivors but recalled seeing three life rafts. According to him they were fully inflated but no one was inside.

The Commissioner, however, heard that another pilot boat had taken the first 50 survivors to Pomeroon, after they were rescued by both the Coast Guard and civilians including fishermen, who had joined the rescue operation.

On the afternoon of July 20, 2026, Bailey said he found an undiscovered number of bodies floating off the beach of the Pomeroon. Those bodies were subsequently recovered.

Bailey is expected to reappear before the Commission on a later date to testify about the state of the MV Barima. He was among those who had inspected the MV Barima.

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