Godfrey Smith to Chair Inquiry into Guyana’s Deadly Maritime Tragedy

Guyana is looking to Belize for help in finding answers after the deadly MV Barima tragedy. President Irfaan Ali has appointed Belizean attorney and former Justice of Appeal Godfrey Smith to lead a five-member Commission of Inquiry into the maritime disaster. Senior attorney Eamon Courtenay has also been brought in to advise on compensation claims for grieving families. News Five’s Paul Lopez has the details.

 

Paul  Lopez, Reporting

The Commission of Inquiry tasked with examining the circumstances surrounding the MV Barima disaster will be led by Belizean Senior Counsel Godfrey Smith, a respected jurist and regional legal expert. President Irfaan Ali announced the appointment as part of Guyana’s effort to establish the facts behind the tragedy and determine whether failures or negligence contributed to the loss of lives.

 

Irfaan Ali, President of Guyana

“The members of the Commission are Justice Godfrey Phillip Smith of Belize, CARICOM High-Level Representative for Law and Criminal Justice and an Ad hoc Justice of the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal, who will serve as chair of the Commission of Inquiry.”

 

He is also a former Justice of Appeal, High Court Judge, Foreign Minister and Attorney General of Belize, and previously served on Guyana’s Commission of Inquiry into the 2020 General and Regional Elections.  Smith told News Five that, at this stage, he is not yet in a position to comment publicly on the inquiry. Meanwhile, Senior Counsel Eamon Courtenay, another prominent Belizean attorney, has been retained to advise the Guyanese government on developing a framework for financial assistance for survivors and victims’ families through a newly established HEART Initiative. Courtenay told News Five, quote, “Over the weekend, His Excellency President Irfan Ali asked me to advise the Government of Guyana on potential claims to be made on behalf of those affected by the very sad MV Barima incident.  I readily agreed to do so and look forward to working with the Government to resolve claims when made”.

 

Irfaan Ali

“I also wish to announce that I have asked Mr. Eamon Harrison Courtenay of Belize to assist in working out the modalities relating to financial assistance for the survif0rs and victims’ families. Mr. Courtenay brings a wealth of experience, as a practitioner of law and a former Minister of Foreign Affairs and former Attorney General and former Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade for his country. I wish to make it clear that this assistance does not constitute compensation for survivors and bereaved families.”

 

The inquiry’s terms of reference include determining the causes of the disaster, assessing compliance with maritime laws and regulations, reviewing search and rescue efforts, and recommending measures to improve maritime safety and prevent recurrence. The commission also includes maritime experts from Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Poland.  The Commission of Inquiry is expected to begin its work in the coming weeks. Of an estimated one hundred and seventy-nine passengers, seventy-three bodies were recovered, seventy-six people were rescued and thirty people remain unaccounted for. Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.

 

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

Watch the full newscast here: