The 40-year-old captain of the sunken MV Barima ferry in Guyana, Kevin Price, broke down in tears during his first court appearance over the disaster, which claimed at least 73 lives, while more than 30 others missing.

Reports noted that the incident occurred on July 18 when the ferry issued a distress call while off the coast of Guyana, near Iron Punt before overturning and sinking, killing 73 of the passengers onboard in what is now the deadliest maritime disaster in the history of Guyana.

Dozens of others remained unaccounted for as of Tuesday, as search and rescue teams continued efforts to locate them.

Following the conclusion of an investigation, police moved forward to charge Mr Price alongside chief mate Rondell Dwayne Roberts, 42, and government transport official Delon Granderson, 33, in connection to the incident. 

The three defendants were subsequently arraigned before the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, when the charges were read to them. They were not required to enter pleas and remanded to prison until August 3, 2026.

Upon arriving at the court, Mr Price, who appeared visibly distraught, was heard saying he did not understand why he was being charged with murder, adding that the public was aware that the 87-year-old ferry had longstanding mechanical issues.

“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,” Mr Price said.

He added, “Everybody knows that’s 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.”

The lawyer for the defendants, Dexter Todd, questioned the decision of the prosecutors to charge his clients over the accident. 

“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.”

“We had the minister who is responsible for transport and harbours come out on public television and say that the boat was not overloaded, and that was so pronounced,” Mr Todd said. 

Additionally, the lawyer also questioned the speed at which the investigation was completed by police, noting that the report of the probe ought to have been handed to a commission of inquiry before heading to court. 

“The complexity of this matter, you could not have completed an investigation in this matter in such a short time. The police have now done what the Commission of Inquiry is supposed to do and they have already come to a definitive conclusion on this matter,” Mr Todd added.