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Officials say 76 of the roughly 179 people believed to have been aboard survived, and 53 bodies have been found so far.

The expected death toll from Guyana’s ferry disaster over the weekend has climbed to around 100, with the authorities facing mounting pressure to explain how the country’s worst maritime disaster in decades occurred.

Officials said on Tuesday that 76 of the roughly 179 people believed to have been aboard survived, while 53 bodies have been recovered as divers continue searching for the remaining missing.

Families have gathered in the northern town of Charity, waiting for news of loved ones still unaccounted for.

“I know my baby is in that boat,” said Samantha Ramin, who lost two of her three children.

The body of her young daughter has been found, but her baby boy is still missing.

“I know he is down there. I know he is down there,” she said. “I want to see them find my baby.”

The 87-year-old vessel, MV Barima, left Georgetown for Port Kaituma on Saturday but began taking on water and capsized off the Essequibo coast. Although its manifest listed 133 people, authorities now believe as many as 179 were aboard.

Anger has grown over the length of time it took to rescue survivors, some of whom told reporters they spent hours stranded in the water.

Passengers have also alleged the ferry was dangerously overloaded with people and heavy cargo, including engines, vehicles, fuel containers and commercial goods. One survivor said the boat was more crowded than on any of his previous trips, describing cargo packed tightly below deck.

Survivors also allege the ferry suffered engine trouble shortly after departure but that the crew attempted repairs at sea rather than turning back, and that concerns about water entering the vessel were dismissed by crew members as routine.

Government officials say the ferry was actually under its capacity limits for both passengers and cargo, but acknowledge that conflicting accounts make it too early to draw firm conclusions. The head of the Maritime Administration Department said a full investigation is needed to establish facts such as how the vessel was loaded and whether supervisory staff acted properly.

Prime Minister Mark Phillips said Tuesday that the government has nothing to hide and pledged that anyone found responsible – including for negligence or criminal wrongdoing – will face legal consequences.

Police have already detained the rescued captain, along with at least one other crew member. Both reportedly tested positive for marijuana.

Asked why such an old vessel remained in service, officials said a US$12.7 million replacement ferry purchased from India was awaiting the completion of a special pier at Port Kaituma. The MV Barima last underwent major repairs in 2024 and had additional maintenance scheduled for October.

July 22 (UPI) — Guyana will establish an independent commission of inquiry into the country’s deadliest maritime disaster after the sinking of the MV Barima left at least 53 people dead.

Meanwhile, authorities continued rescue and recovery operations while investigating discrepancies in the ferry’s passenger manifest and possible safety violations.

The MV Barima, an 87-year-old ferry operating between Georgetown and the remote community of Port Kaituma, capsized Saturday night after issuing a distress signal, Authorities described it as the worst maritime disaster in Guyana’s history.

Prime Minister Mark Phillips said Wednesday the independent inquiry will be established “as early as possible” to determine what happened before the vessel departed and whether operating procedures were followed.

Investigators will also examine how discrepancies in the passenger manifest occurred, how cargo was handled, whether the emergency response was adequate and whether violations of maritime regulations occurred, according to Guyana’s Department of Public Information.

“I can assure you, yes, we will have a commission of inquiry and people will be held responsible based on the outcome, the results and the recommendations of that commission of inquiry,” Phillips said.

Authorities now believe about 179 people were aboard the ferry when it capsized, despite the official manifest listing 116 passengers and 17 crew members, Phillips said.

He cautioned against drawing conclusions about possible overloading or operational failures before investigators complete their work, but did acknowledge discrepancies between the official records and the estimated number of passengers.

Phillips said the commission also will recommend reforms to strengthen maritime safety, improve ferry operations and help prevent similar disasters.

The announcement comes as search and recovery operations entered a new phase. President Mohamed Irfaan Ali said Wednesday that authorities planned to begin raising the wreck using specialized flotation equipment to improve access for rescue and recovery teams, according to the Department of Public Information.

Ali said additional divers and technical personnel were joining the operation, which includes the Guyana Defence Force Coast Guard, police, civilian volunteers and private-sector partners. He ssaid seabed mapping technology provided with support from ExxonMobil had located the ferry resting on its starboard side, allowing engineers to plan a recovery effort.

“We have not ruled out rescue just yet,” Ali told relatives of those still missing during a late-night briefing, according to the Department of Public Information.

Authorities said 76 people have been rescued since the accident, while dozens remain unaccounted for.

Separate criminal and administrative investigations also remain underway.

Earlier this week, officials confirmed that the ferry’s captain and mate tested positive for marijuana after the accident. Maritime personnel responsible for the vessel’s operations were placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation, according to the Department of Public Information.

Authorities detain ferry crew members after drug tests reveal violations in Guyana’s worst marine disaster in decades.

Authorities in Guyana say they have recovered 27 bodies from a ferry that capsized off the country’s coast with 179 people on board.

The MV Barima issued a distress call on Saturday night, having overturned while ferrying passengers from the capital, Georgetown, to Port Kaituma in Guyana’s northwest.

Officials said on Monday that 69 people had been rescued, while 83 remained missing. Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill described the sinking as the country’s worst marine disaster in decades.

Prime Minister Mark Phillips launched an investigation into potential negligence by the ferry’s crew in the lead-up to the accident.

Officials say that while the MV Barima was initially thought to have been carrying 116 passengers and 17 crew members, 32 people rescued from the disaster were not recorded in the ferry’s manifest, putting the number of potential victims much higher.

Police have also announced that the ferry’s captain and at least one other crew member were taken into custody after testing positive for marijuana.

“We have a zero tolerance for members of the crew drinking or smoking while at work. And for us to have positive tests from the captain, this is serious,” Edghill said.

Passengers had complained for years that officials at state-run ferry terminals were selling seats for cash without recording the true number of passengers in their manifest, which Edghill called “a criminal action”.

President Irfaan Ali visited survivors and their families in hospital.

“It was a deeply emotional experience. I listened to their stories, shared in their pain and anxiety, and assured them that every practical measure would be taken to provide the support and assistance they need,” he said.

July 20 (UPI) — A ferry carrying 133 passengers and crew members capsized off the coast of Guyana, where authorities continued searching Monday for dozens of missing people while investigating possible irregularities in the vessel’s operation.

The MV Barima departed Georgetown on Saturday afternoon bound for Port Kaituma, a remote community in the country’s northwest that is primarily accessible by sea and river.

According to the official manifest, the vessel was carrying 116 passengers, 17 crew members and some 268 tons of cargo when it issued a distress signal about 11 p.m., Prime Minister Mark Phillips said.

By midday Sunday, rescue teams had saved 67 people, including 41 men, 11 women and 15 children, while the search continued across an area expanded to more than 385 square miles with support from the Guyana Defence Force, the Coast Guard, other government agencies and local fishermen, according to the government.

As rescue efforts progressed, authorities discovered several of the people found alive were not listed on the ferry’s official manifest.

In addition, two crew members tested positive for cannabis during medical examinations conducted after the accident, Phillips said.

After those findings, the government ordered a joint investigation by the Guyana Police Force, the Guyana Defence Force, the Maritime Administration Department and technical experts to determine the cause of the capsizing.

The investigation will examine the accuracy of the manifest, the cargo being transported, compliance with maritime safety regulations and the actions of the captain and crew before and during the trip.

As part of the initial measures, authorities removed the entire team responsible for the MV Barima’s cargo, dispatch and operational management from their duties to preserve the integrity of the investigation and prevent any interference with the evidence, Public Works Minister Juan Edghill said.

Edghill said the Guyana Police Force had obtained security camera footage from Kingston Goods Wharf, from which the ferry departed, to reconstruct the sequence of events leading up to the accident.

“Where negligence, misconduct or criminal acts are established, those responsible will face the full force of the law,” Phillips said in a statement.

Edghill described it as “criminal” that some passengers were not listed on the official passenger manifest, saying the situation makes it difficult to determine how many people were actually on board, local outlet Kiskadee Watch reported.

He said the captain and two other crew members remain in custody while the investigation continues.

Some survivors also said the vessel was overloaded and that crew members had been drinking alcohol and smoking before the accident, according to Kiskadee Watch.

Authorities initially maintained that the MV Barima had been operating within authorized limits. According to the official manifest, the ferry had capacity for more than 300 passengers and 284 tons of cargo, and it was carrying 268 tons at the time of the accident.

The government also said the vessel completed its mandatory maintenance in 2024 and was operating with new engines.

As search and rescue operations continue, assistance centers remain open for relatives in Georgetown, Port Kaituma and Mabaruma, where authorities are providing official information, psychological support and other services to those affected.

Rescue operations for remaining passengers and crew ongoing, authorities say.

Rescuers in Guyana are racing to find dozens of people missing at sea after a ferry carrying 116 passengers and crew capsized off the country’s coast, according to local authorities.

The MV Barima, which issued a distress call at about 11pm on Saturday (03:00 GMT on Sunday), capsized near Iron Punt while travelling from Guyana’s capital Georgetown to Port Kaituma.

Guyana’s Prime Minister Mark Phillips told the AFP news agency on Sunday that 53 people had been rescued. He said authorities expected to rescue more people as the search operation progresses during daylight hours.

The operation involves Guyana’s coastguard and private vessels, according to Guyana’s Public Works Minister Juan Edghill.

Edghill said the ferry was equipped with some 250 life jackets, eight lifeboats and other safety gear.

He added that a medical team was being dispatched to the search area to treat people “as soon as they are rescued”.

“There is an active search and rescue operation that is taking place, and we pray for the safety of all,” Edghill said in a video post shared on Facebook.

The circumstances surrounding the boat accident were not immediately clear.

THE HAGUE — Venezuela ’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez told journalists Monday that her country had no plans to become the 51st U.S. state after President Trump said he was “seriously considering” the move.

Rodríguez was speaking at the International Court of Justice in The Hague on the final day of hearings in a dispute between her country and neighboring Guyana over the massive mineral- and oil-rich Essequibo region.

“We will continue to defend our integrity, our sovereignty, our independence, our history,” said Rodríguez, who assumed power in January following a U.S. military operation that ousted then-President Nicolás Maduro. Venezuela is “not a colony, but a free country,” she added.

Speaking to Fox News earlier on Monday, Trump said he was “seriously considering making Venezuela the 51st U.S. state,” according to a post by Fox News’ co-anchor John Roberts on social media. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the matter.

Trump has made similar comments about Canada.

Rodríguez went on to say that Venezuelan and U.S. officials have been in touch and are working on “cooperation and understanding.”

Before addressing Trump’s comments, Rodríguez defended her country’s claim to Essequibo at the United Nations’ highest court, telling judges that political negotiations — not a judicial ruling — will resolve the century-old territorial dispute.

The 62,000-square-mile territory, which makes up two-thirds of Guyana, is rich in gold, diamonds, timber and other natural resources. It also sits near massive offshore oil deposits currently producing an average 900,000 barrels a day.

That output is close to Venezuela’s daily production of about 1 million barrels a day and has transformed one of the smallest countries in South America into a significant energy producer.

Venezuela has considered Essequibo its own since the Spanish colonial period, when the jungle region fell within its boundaries. But an 1899 decision by arbitrators from Britain, Russia and the United States drew the border along the Essequibo River largely in favor of Guyana.

Venezuela has argued that a 1966 agreement sealed in Geneva to resolve the dispute effectively nullified the 19th-century arbitration. In 2018, however, three years after ExxonMobil announced a significant oil discovery off the Essequibo coast, Guyana’s government went to the International Court of Justice and asked judges to uphold the 1899 ruling.

Tensions between the countries further flared in 2023, when Rodríguez’s predecessor, Maduro, threatened to annex the region by force after holding a referendum asking voters if Essequibo should be turned into a Venezuelan state. Maduro was captured Jan. 3 during a U.S. military operation in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, and taken to New York to face drug trafficking charges. He has pleaded not guilty.

Rodríguez did not address the referendum in her remarks, but she told the court that the 1966 agreement is designed to allow negotiations between Venezuela and Guyana to resolve the territorial dispute. And she accused Guyana’s government of undermining the agreement with the “opportunistic” decision to ask the court to address the dispute.

“At a time when the mechanisms established in the Geneva agreement were still fully in force, Guyana unilaterally chose to shift the dispute from the negotiating arena to a judicial resolution,” she said. “This change was not accidental; it coincided with the discovery in 2015 of the oil field that would become world-renowned.”

When hearings opened last week, Guyana’s foreign minister, Hugh Hilton Todd, told the panel of international judges that the dispute “has been a blight on our existence as a sovereign state from the very beginning.” He said that 70% of Guyana’s territory is at stake.

The court is likely to take months to issue a final and legally binding ruling in the case.

Venezuela has warned that its participation in the hearings does not mean either consent to, or recognition of, the court’s jurisdiction.

Quell and Cano write for the Associated Press. Garcia Cano reported from Mexico City.