IRF Chairman backs thorough investigation into MV Barima tragedy

A major road and transport infrastructure conference is being held this week in Georgetown, and at the opening ceremony of the event, International Road Federation (IRF) Chairman Randy Iwasaki emphasised that a thorough investigation into Guyana’s MV Barima tragedy must be conducted. 

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 13th International Road Federation Caribbean Regional Congress, Iwasaki the investigation must identify what went wrong but inform the improvement of systems and policies to guarantee people’s safety. 

“…When you go into the public sector and transportation your first priority must always be safety of your team and the travelling public,” he said.

The MV Barima, a passenger and cargo vessel, left Port Georgetown on Saturday afternoon and was heading to Port Kaituma in Region One. Late Saturday night, tragedy struck.

Authorities have so far recovered 56 bodies, with 36 victims identified.

Several concerns and questions have been raised about the tragedy, stemming from revelations that more passengers than those on the official list were travelling on the vessel. Officials have also arrested the vessel’s captain and first engineer have been arrested after both tested positive for narcotics. Guyana’s President Dr Irfaan Ali has promised a full and thorough investigation into the entire tragedy.

Meanwhile Iwasaki said officials should use the incident as an opportunity to assess existing policies and procedures.

“And I think what we need to do is gather together as transportation officials and figure out what went wrong, make sure that the policies address safety issues so that we can ensure that this doesn’t happen again,” he said.