Almost a year after the deadly MV Barima maritime disaster that claimed dozens of lives and left dozens more missing off the coast of Guyana, the South American nation has turned to regional legal expertise from neighboring Belize to uncover the full truth of the incident. In a formal announcement July 27, 2026, Guyanese President Irfaan Ali confirmed the appointment of respected Belizean jurist Godfrey Smith to chair a five-member independent Commission of Inquiry tasked with unpacking the circumstances of the tragedy.
Smith brings a wealth of high-level legal and public service experience to the role. A former Belizean Attorney General, Foreign Minister, High Court Judge and Justice of Appeal, he currently serves as the CARICOM High-Level Representative for Law and Criminal Justice and holds an appointment as an Ad hoc Justice of the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal. This is not Smith’s first time working with Guyana on a high-stakes inquiry: he previously served as a member of the country’s 2020 General and Regional Elections Commission of Inquiry. When contacted by News Five, Smith declined to comment publicly on the scope or early preparations for the inquiry, noting it was too early in the process to share details.
Alongside Smith’s appointment, President Ali announced that another senior Belizean legal figure, former Foreign Minister, Attorney General and Investment and Foreign Trade Minister Eamon Courtenay, has been retained to advise the Guyanese government on compensation and assistance frameworks for survivors and families of those killed in the disaster. Courtenay will support the government’s newly launched HEART Initiative, which is designed to deliver financial support to people affected by the tragedy.
In a statement to News Five, Courtenay confirmed he accepted the appointment over the 2026 weekend preceding the formal announcement, saying: “Over the weekend, His Excellency President Irfaan Ali asked me to advise the Government of Guyana on potential claims to be made on behalf of those affected by the very sad MV Barima incident. I readily agreed to do so and look forward to working with the Government to resolve claims when made.”
President Ali emphasized in his announcement that Courtenay’s work to develop assistance modalities does not pre-determine formal compensation awards, clarifying that the framework is still under development. The five-member inquiry panel brings together global and regional maritime expertise, with additional members drawn from Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Poland.
The commission’s formal terms of reference cover four core priorities: establishing the direct and underlying causes of the disaster, evaluating whether all parties involved complied with existing international and domestic maritime safety laws and regulations, conducting a full review of the search and rescue operations launched after the incident, and drafting actionable policy recommendations to strengthen Guyana’s maritime safety framework and prevent similar tragedies in the future.
The MV Barima disaster resulted in one of the deadliest civilian maritime incidents in Guyana’s recent history. Of the 179 people estimated to have been on board the vessel when it sank, official figures confirm 73 bodies have been recovered, 76 people were rescued alive, and 30 people remain unaccounted for as of the commission’s appointment. The inquiry is scheduled to begin its official work in the coming weeks, with a full report of findings and recommendations expected at a later date. This report was compiled by Paul Lopez for News Five.