PRESIDENT Dr. Irfaan Ali has disclosed that a full salvage of the sunken MV Barima may become the only remaining option if ongoing efforts to access the wreck fail, but stressed that authorities are doing everything possible to avoid such a course of action.
Speaking to relatives of those still missing during a briefing on Thursday evening, the President said specialised divers continued working throughout the day to reposition the vessel but encountered several challenges.
He said that Thursday’s attempt to move the wreck had some challenges since a number of divers became ill and had to return to the surface while others remained at the site to continue operations.
President Ali explained that teams would continue working through the night in an effort to reposition the vessel sufficiently to allow divers to safely enter it.
“If we don’t get the type of movement that we want with the boat, the divers were able to do enough work to go back tomorrow to try to go into the vessel and try to release as much as they can release,” he told the families.
According to the President, divers were scheduled to return to the wreck from 5:30 a.m., with updates on the operation expected later today.
However, he cautioned that if those efforts prove unsuccessful, authorities may have to consider a more difficult option.
“The only option after that, which we don’t want to get to—we’re trying to avoid as far as possible—is to try for a full salvage of the vessel,” he said.
President Ali acknowledged that such an operation could disturb what remains inside the wreck, making it an option of last resort.
“That has the challenge of disrupting whatever is there, but we are hopeful that we don’t get to that. If we get to that, all of us together will have to make a decision as the best option,” he told the grieving relatives.
Despite the setbacks, the Head of State said progress made in moving the vessel has given rescuers renewed hope that additional bodies or debris trapped within the wreck could surface overnight.
“The Coast Guard is staying out there. They have created a network out there to try to retrieve anything that comes to the surface if that is the case,” he said.
President Ali assured families that the Government remains committed to exhausting every possible effort in the search and recovery operation before considering any alternative measures.
The MV Barima sank on the night of Saturday, July 18, 2026, while en route from Georgetown to Port Kaituma, Region One.
A distress call was received at approximately 11:01 p.m., triggering one of the largest maritime search and rescue operations in Guyana’s history, supported by the Guyana Defence Force Coast Guard, local agencies, private vessels, international partners, and specialist diving teams from France, Brazil and Trinidad and Tobago.
Subsequent investigations confirmed that 179 people, including passengers and crew, were aboard the vessel when it capsized.
To date, 76 people have been rescued, while 72 bodies have been recovered, while 65 of the recovered victims have now been positively identified by their families.
