Govt. scapegoating MV Barima crew with “ridiculous, vindictive” murder charges – Norton

Aug 01, 2026 News

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(Kaieteur News) – Chairman of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) and Leader of A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), Aubrey Norton, said Friday that the surviving crew members of the MV Barima are being scapegoated to protect ministers of the PPP/C Government.

Speaking publicly for the first time since the tragedy during the APNU’s weekly press conference, Norton said the coalition rejects the move to charge the captain, chief mate and goods superintendent with murder.

He said he was also has concerns that the charges were instituted before the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) was established to determine the causes of the disaster.

“The instituting of these murder charges is ridiculous, vindictive, and intended to silence the workers. Murder ordinarily requires proof of an intention to kill or the legally required equivalent. Nothing publicly shown so far proves that these men deliberately intended to kill passengers. The government’s intention is to scapegoat the workers to relieve themselves from their responsibility and to protect its corrupt leadership. Government must do the decent thing and withdraw the charges since they must only be made by the Guyana Police Force after the findings of a competent, independent, and lawful investigation,” he urged.

Norton argued that transforming a systemic maritime failure into dozens of murder charges amounts to the use of political power “to protect ministers and scapegoat workers rather than to uncover the full chain of responsibility for this tragedy.”

He said further that it is public knowledge that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has already acknowledged that the vessel’s navigational and safety systems were defective.

The questions now, he said, are: Who allowed a government vessel with defective systems to sail? Who certified it? Who supervised its maintenance? Who approved its cargo? Who dispatched it?

According to Norton, responsibility for those decisions falls squarely at the feet of the cabinet and its ministers. Therefore, he said, workers should not face the most serious criminal charge known to law “while the policymakers and senior officials who controlled the system escape investigation and punishment.”

“Anil Nandlall used the term ‘primary offenders’; therefore, the suggested guilt is likely drug impairment. If there are primary offenders, then there must be secondary offenders. The questions then should be: Who are the secondary offenders? Was criminal negligence the crime of the two ministers Edghill and Indar?” he asked.

He said he believes Ministers Juan Edghill and Deodat Indar must resign to allow for an impartial and professional investigation, as the MV Barima was not a private vessel but a government-owned ferry managed by the Transport and Harbours Department (T&HD) under the Ministry of Public Works.

“It is the government that decided that the vessel remained in service even against the recommendations of the professional staff. The government handles its maintenance, inspection, and certification and failed the people of Guyana. The government controls the terminal, the passenger system, the cargo operations, the loading arrangements, and the dispatch of the vessel. The government is also known for telling public servants to abide by their instructions,” he said.

Reminding that it was the government’s decision to continue sending an 87-year-old vessel into the open Atlantic Ocean while the infrastructure needed to accommodate its replacement remained unfinished, Norton argued that the administration must bear responsibility for the tragedy.

“The prime minister has also admitted that heavy government cargo was aboard the vessel and that there appeared to have been a breakdown in the routine inspection process before departure. Reports show that the cargo included heavy machinery, vehicles, and construction materials,” Norton added.

Additionally, he said government officials have been unable to provide a complete and convincing public account of all the cargo, its total weight, whether it was properly loaded, and whether there was an adequate assessment of the vessel’s stability.

“These are not minor administrative matters. They go directly to the seaworthiness, loading, and stability of the vessel,” he stressed.

Cargo evidence must be preserved and disclosed

Recalling that survivors have publicly spoken about overcrowding, water entering the vessel and the amount of cargo aboard, Norton said the government, through Minister Edghill, initially insisted that the vessel was operating within capacity but later admitted that significant government cargo was on board and that normal inspection procedures may have broken down.

“This makes Edghill not only a liar but culpable. The evidence therefore raises a serious possibility that government cargo, its placement, or its combined weight contributed to the vessel’s instability. These factors place responsibility squarely at the feet of the minister. This is even more so since it is a norm for PPP/C ministers to overrule public servants and disregard professional advice.

Norton said APNU is not drawing any technical conclusions before experts complete their work. However, he said the party is insisting on a thorough investigation and that documents including the loading records, surveillance recordings, weight certificates, maintenance reports, inspection certificates, and drug and alcohol testing protocols be made public.

He added that the records must not be altered or destroyed and that Edghill must tell the people of Guyana “how many captains were forced to leave or dismissed because they refused to sail an overloaded boat.”

“The government must make the following public: the complete cargo manifest and the verified weight of every item; the identities of the ministries and agencies that own the cargo; the vessel’s stability calculations and the loading plan; all inspection and seaworthiness certificates; maintenance reports and defect logs; terminal surveillance recordings; the reports of the alcohol and drug testing protocols that were done over the years; communications between the crew, T&HD management, and the Ministry; and the names of every official who authorised loading and departure,” he added.

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• APNU, Commission of Inquiry, MV Barima, MV Barima crew, PNCR, scapegoating

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