GEORGETOWN, Guyana (CMC) — The captain and one crew member of the ill-fated vessel MV Barima that sank on July 18, leaving at least 73 people dead and more than 30 others missing and feared dead, appeared in court on Tuesday charged with murder.

Police slapped 40-year-old captain Kevin Price, 42-year-old chief mate Rondell Dwayne Roberts and 33-year-old Delon Granderson, the loading superintendent from the Transport and Harbours Department, with a total of 72 murder charges.

The men appeared before Chief Magistrate Judy Latchman at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court, where the charges were read to them. They were not required to plead and were remanded in prison until August 3, 2026.

When he appeared in court, the captain of the 87-year-old vessel broke down in tears saying there were several issues with the vessel and he doesn’t understand why he is facing murder charges.

“I don’t deserve this Father God. Father God you answer my prayers this morning, answer my prayers Father God, I don’t deserve this please. Everybody know thats an 87 year old vessel, the vessel got a lot of issues, the vessel don’t have a radar, the vessel don’t have a search and rescue transponder,” Price said, adding that many of the problems with the vessel were known since 2022.

Attorney Dexter Todd, who appeared on behalf of the accused, told reporters that the defence team will be pushing for early disclosures in the matter.

“We know so far that the disclosure is that 72 bodies were recovered and so they were charged for all 72 of those deaths. We listened to the prosecution narrate the facts in relation to why they were charged and who has what responsibility and that the boat was overloaded,” Todd said.

“Now you had the minister who is responsible for transport and harbours, came out and say on public television that the boat was not overloaded and that was so pronounced. And in every single press conference held by the prime minister, there was absolutely no indication that they found in addition to the loading manifest that they were able to establish the load of that boat.

“Now you could imagine there was a clear pronouncement yesterday and the fears of the Guyanese people that we may not even see the boat back on water, so my thing is how do they hope to establish the weight of that boat,” Todd said.

The attorney said that it is now clear that the upcoming Commission of Inquiry into the tragedy could turn out to be a farce.