GEORGETOWN, Guyana (CMC) – Recovery teams have retrieved one more body from the wreck of the MV Barima, as a multi-agency operation involving local and international divers continued on Friday in Guyana to locate those still missing following the maritime tragedy.

Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali, providing an update while meeting with the families of those still missing at the Operations Centre in Charity on Friday, said specialist divers had already completed two dives and there would be a third as they worked to safely penetrate the wreck.

“They are making progress in cutting things open and clearing, and as a result, they have been able to recover one more body so far from the wreck,” Ali said.

The death toll from the tragedy has now risen to 72 following last weekend’s incident when the 87-year-old vessel capsized after being hit by a wave as it made its way from Georgetown to Port Kaituma, a small village within the Barima-Waini administrative region of the country.

The official manifest had 116 passengers and a 17-member crew but the authorities said that as many as 179 passengers and crew may have been on board the vessel. The authorities have so far said 76 people survived the ordeal.

Ali said the recovery operation remains highly technical, with divers carefully cutting through sections of the vessel and removing obstructions to gain access to additional compartments where victims may still be trapped. He said the recovery efforts would continue uninterrupted and that the operation is being supported by an international team of French and Trinidadian divers working alongside local divers.

Guyanese and Brazilian helicopters continue aerial searches over the surrounding waters.

Prime Minister of Guyana Mark Phillips, speaking on a radio programme here Friday said that the government is strengthening compliance with standard operating procedures across the country’s ferry service following the tragedy.

He said immediate action is being taken to ensure stricter adherence to existing ticketing and passenger management procedures after it was confirmed that individuals boarded the MV Barima without being ticketed.

Phillips said a review of CCTV footage from the departure stelling established that 179 people were on board the vessel when it sank. He said the footage was examined overnight by a team of officials and that the independent Commission of Inquiry being established will investigate how the discrepancies between the official passenger manifest and the actual number of passengers were allowed to occur at the Transport and Harbours Department.

Meanwhile, the parliamentary opposition, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) on Friday called for the Speaker of the National Assembly, Manzoor Nadir, to allow legislators to discuss and agree on the terms of reference for a commission of inquiry into the tragedy.

General Secretary of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR)- APNU’s largest partner – Sherwin Benjamin has warned of mass protests if the government refused to give into his party’s demands.

“We intend to ensure that we bring the necessary pressure to bear so that this matter can be dealt with with much dispatch and by that, I mean, if it means that we have to organise mass political activities,” he said.

In his letter to Nadir, the APNU parliamentary leader, Dr Terrence Campbell, is proposing that the Assembly meet next Monday to consider the establishment of the commission.

He said the APNU has listed a number of measures to establish the facts surrounding the sinking of the MV Barima on July 18, including timeline, passenger and manifest records, cargo, weather and navigation conditions as well as to determine causes and contributing factors, including vessel maintenance and seaworthiness, crew qualifications and training, compliance with national maritime laws, licences and safety standards.

In addition, the APNU wants legislators to examine the adequacy and timeliness of the search-and-rescue response and actions taken by relevant agencies as well as assess the regulatory framework, oversight, inspection regimes and enforcement practices of maritime and port authorities, and identify any systemic failures.

It is also urging an examination of any allegations of negligence, misconduct, corruption or breach of statutory duties by any individual or entity and recommend any appropriate legal or disciplinary action and to recommend measures to improve passenger and crew safety, emergency preparedness, regulatory oversight, and to prevent recurrence.

The APNU wants the production of documents and the summoning of witnesses, and to produce a full public report with findings and recommendations within a specified timeframe and to adopt such interim measures and recommendations as necessary to protect the public interest and safety pending full inquiry outcomes.

APNU parliamentarian Saiku Andrews said the government’s tender for the docking and rehabilitation of the MV Barima published in March 2026 reveals that the Bills of Quantities required the examination of approximately 10,000 square metres of hull plating and frames, with deteriorated sections to be renewed where necessary.

“The real issue is that the Government’s own engineers identified the need to examine the hull, replace deteriorated steel, replace wasted hatch beams, replace zinc anodes, service critical components and carry out ultrasonic thickness testing only months before the tragedy,” said Andrews.

Another APNU legislator, Dexter Todd said a team of 15 lawyers had been assembled to protect the interests of the survivors.

He said the captain and two crew members were still in police custody.