The commission, appointed by President Irfaan Ali, is chaired by former Belizean Justice of Appeal Godfrey Phillip Smith and includes Trinidad and Tobago maritime attorney Nyree Dawn Alfonso, Jamaican maritime surveyor Captain Hamada Fouda, retired Trinidad and Tobago Rear Admiral Hayden Pritchard, and Polish forensic naval architect Dr. Andrzej Jasionowski. The panel has been mandated to determine what caused the July 18 tragedy, identify any negligence or institutional failures, and recommend reforms to strengthen maritime safety.
The inquiry stems from the sinking of the 87-year-old MV Barima, which capsized while travelling from Georgetown to Port Kaituma. Authorities have since confirmed that 179 people were aboard the vessel. Seventy-six survived, 73 bodies have been recovered, and 30 people remain unaccounted for, making it the deadliest maritime disaster in Guyana’s modern history.
President Ali has repeatedly described the commission as independent, international and transparent, saying it is intended to provide answers for grieving families and restore confidence in the country’s maritime safety framework. However, the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC), opposition parties, civil society organisations and governance advocates had called for a more inclusive and consultative process in appointing the commissioners to avoid perceptions of bias and strengthen public confidence in the inquiry. The Government, however, proceeded with the appointments without adopting those recommendations.
However, even before hearing its first witness, the commission has become the subject of mounting criticism from opposition parties, civil society organisations and governance advocates, who argue that public confidence depends not only on the inquiry’s findings but also on the appearance of impartiality.
Further fuelling concerns, members of the media were not permitted to witness Thursday’s swearing-in ceremony. The decision to exclude the press from the event has prompted fresh questions about the openness of a process the Government has repeatedly characterised as transparent, with some observers arguing that greater public access would have reinforced confidence in the commission’s independence from the outset
Among other concerns raised is the reported professional association between Labour and Manpower Planning Minister Keoma Griffith, one of the government’s prominent advisers on the MV Barima response, and Commissioner Nyree Dawn Alfonso. Griffith has reportedly served as a consultant with Alfonso’s Trinidad and Tobago law firm, prompting questions over whether the relationship creates the perception of a conflict of interest.
The issue has taken on added significance because Griffith previously served as counsel to the Commission of Inquiry into the Mahdia Secondary School dormitory fire before entering Cabinet in September 2025. Critics argue that his reported connection to a sitting commissioner risks undermining public confidence in the Barima inquiry, regardless of whether any actual conflict exists.
Political commentator and GECOM Commissioner Vincent Alexander has also invoked the landmark 1924 English case Rex v. Sussex Justices, arguing that the legitimacy of the inquiry depends not only on whether justice is done but whether it is “manifestly and undoubtedly seen to be done.” In a letter published Thursday, Alexander warned that even the perception of bias could erode the credibility of the commission’s work.
Other objections have centred on Commissioner Alfonso’s reported past role as an electoral agent for Trinidad and Tobago’s United National Congress (UNC), a party regarded as a longstanding ally of Guyana’s governing People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), as well as concerns raised about another commissioner’s links to the maritime sector. No evidence has been presented that any commissioner has acted improperly.
The Government has rejected suggestions that the inquiry lacks independence, maintaining that the commissioners were selected for their international expertise in maritime law, naval engineering, accident investigation and judicial practice.
The commission is expected to begin hearings in the coming days while a parallel criminal investigation continues. Three Transport and Harbours Department employees—Captain Kevin Price, Chief Mate Rondell Dwayne Roberts and Goods Superintendent Delon Granderson—have already been charged with murder over the disaster, a decision that has itself sparked widespread legal debate over whether the facts, as publicly known, support such charges.
