Police in Guyana have formally charged three individuals with murder in connection with the capsizing of a passenger ferry that left 73 people dead and a further 30 missing on July 18. Though the vessel had no passenger manifest, it is thought to have been carrying 179 people at the time it sank on its journey between Guyana's capital, Georgetown, and the northwestern village of Port Kaituma, near neighboring Venezuela.

Authorities say 76 passengers and crew were rescued when the vessel sank in what was the worst maritime disaster ever recorded in the South American country. On Tuesday, the ship's captain and two crew members were formally charged at a Georgetown courthouse and remanded to prison. The men were not required to enter pleas, had no legal representation, and will appear before the court once again on August 3.

Following the accident, Prime Minister Mark Phillips said the three men had tested positive for marijuana use. On Sunday, the government of Guyana set up a five-person commission of international legal and maritime experts to investigate the incident. Opposition lawmakers have loudly called for the resignations of numerous government officials at ministries responsible for ports and for ferry services.

Although the aging MV Barima was deemed seaworthy and had a clean maintenance record, survivors reported that it was overfilled with passengers and cargo when it sank and that it had been leaking. Though the commission is tasked with looking into those charges, the vessel itself lies on the Atlantic seabed, some 50 feet (15 meters) below the surface. Prime Minister Mark Phillips has said the vessel will not likely be salvaged.

Government officials say the MV Barima is only still in use because construction of a new Port Kaituma pier large enough to accommodate a replacement vessel recently purchased from India has not yet been completed.

Source: www.dw.com