Former Public Infrastructure Minister, David Patterson has stated that independent investigators and maritime experts looking into the MV Barima tragedy must examine whether the change in maintenance operations has a role to play in the vessel’s capsizing over the weekend killing scores of passengers.
During a joint-press conference today, Patterson said that MV Barima was commissioned in 1936 and served this country for many decades, including on routes from West Bank Berbice to Bartica. It is, however, best known for serving the Northwest District. By design, the vessel had an estimated passenger capacity of approximately 150 persons and a cargo capacity of approximately 290 tons.
He noted that for a vessel of this age, maintenance is not a routine administrative matter; it is a matter of public safety. From the 1990s until 2020, general and specific repairs were undertaken by established contractors, including GNIC, and Courtney Benn Contracting Services.
He noted that because of the age of the vessel, several structural components had to be specially fabricated overseas by specialist companies.
Those long-standing maintenance arrangements mattered, he noted, adding that they helped ensure that the vessel had access to the specialist parts, knowledge, and technical support required to keep an ageing vessel operating as safely as possible.
Patterson told the media that after the change in administration in 2020, those arrangements were disrupted.
“Contracts previously awarded to Courtney Benn were withdrawn and the company forced into liquidation, GNIC was no longer operational after its dockyard was repossessed. As a result, maintenance and servicing of the MV Barima were handed to another company whose primary business was fishing,” he noted.
“Let me be clear: this is not a personal attack on any contractor. The real issue is whether the critical link to specialist fabrication, replacement parts, and proven maintenance systems for a vessel of this age was broken. That question must be examined carefully by independent maritime experts,” Patterson added.
He further noted that records will show that the MV Barima was docked in November 2015 and underwent a comprehensive rehabilitation. That work included new engines, new shafts, hull works, and upgrades to the cargo and passenger areas. The vessel returned to full operation in March 2017. Between 2017 and 2020, records also indicate that the vessel underwent its required maintenance cycles and was deemed seaworthy up to that period.
“However, even with those efforts, the administration at the time understood that the remaining effective lifespan of the vessel was limited. That is why, through a grant and loan arrangement provided by the Government of India, designs were advanced for the procurement of a new vessel for the North West route,” the former subject minister said.
He noted that following an independent tender process, a successful bidder was selected, but that award was challenged by the unsuccessful bidder. This, he said, triggered a further review.
“The review confirmed that the original decision was correct, as the vessel proposed by the successful bidder was superior in key respects. On returning to office, the PPP reversed the decision made through that independent process and awarded the contract to the previously unsuccessful bidder,” Patterson said.
The result was the MV Ma Lisha, a vessel which Patterson said, is not properly suited to the needs of the Northwest route because of its size and design.
“The public was told that the lower bid would allow savings to be used for the construction of new stellings to receive the new vessel. Years later, those promised facilities remain incomplete.
Port Kaituma wharf is a clear example of mismanagement. The wharf project was so poorly designed that it required major corrective works. Questions remain about whether adequate preliminary studies were conducted and whether taxpayers were forced to bear additional costs because of these design flaws. To date, the project remains incomplete and is now being given as the excuse why the MV Barima had to remain in operation,” Patterson concluded.
