Grieving family demands urgent recovery of sunken MV Barima in protest outside President’s office

Aug 13, 2026 News

(Kaieteur News) – Relatives of Neil and Kenrick Cort, who have not yet been recovered from the sunken MV Barima, gathered in protest outside the Office of the President on Wednesday, demanding immediate government intervention and accountability to salvage the vessel and recover the bodies of their loved ones.

"Bones, not concrete': Families of Barima victims demand their dead

Cort family being consoled by MP Natasha Singh Lewis

Demonstrators expressed growing outrage over what they characterised as bureaucratic delay and official negligence following the sinking of the river vessel. Neil Cort, 57, served as the ship’s canteen operator for 37 years, while his 53-year-old brother, Kenrick Cort, was assisting him on board.

Collin Solomon, 54, a spokesperson for the family, criticised the administration’s handling of the disaster, calling the proposed timeline to raise the vessel unacceptable.

“We gather out here to express our dissatisfaction about the government’s slow pace and their ineffectiveness towards bringing closure to our loved ones who have not been recovered,” Solomon told reporters. “It is very uncaring of the government to say that they need two weeks to negotiate for people to bring up this boat. It’s an emergency, and they should be able to bring an urgent effort.”

Solomon pointed to years of neglected maintenance on the vessel and alleged that the slow official response reflects a lack of empathy from top authorities. “Because the President is not in that boat, no Minister is in that boat, and none of their family is in that boat, they do not care,” Solomon said. “If their family was in that boat, it would have been up already. We demand justice. We demand accountability.” Chanting “Raise the boat now” and “Accountability begins at the top,” the family emphasised that the delay has exacerbated their distress.

Speaking at the protest, Diane Cort, wife of Neil Cort, described the emotional toll and financial burden left in the wake of her husband’s disappearance. Neil Cort was known for his decades of service along the riverways, frequently providing food to destitute passengers at his own expense.

“Today I still ring his phone to see if he will answer. It’s very hard,” Cort said. “My husband was my breadwinner…not me alone, but he looked out for everybody. He was a hardworking man who never robbed or begged anyone.”

She recalled that, despite safety concerns, her husband felt a strong obligation to remain aboard the vessel to serve the public. “He would have turned and said, ‘Diane, I can’t come out. What happens to the people? How are the people gonna eat?’ There was no way I could stop my husband that day.”

In addition to supporting his immediate family, funding his children’s education, and assisting his grandchildren, Neil Cort was also raising a five-year-old orphan whose father was murdered in 2024.

The MV Barima capsized on the evening of July 18 off the Essequibo coast while enroute from Georgetown to Port Kaituma, Region One, leaving 73 confirmed dead, 76 rescued, and at least 30 others missing.

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