Guyana Defence Force pilot Lieutenant Colonel Anson Weeks lacked specialised training in maritime and night search-and-rescue operations, while aviation restrictions prevented his helicopter from reaching the reported location of the MV Barima disaster, the Commission of Inquiry heard.

Weeks, of the GDF Air Corps, testified that he received one week of basic inland search-and-rescue training through a company contracted to train pilots, followed by a week of aerial firefighting training.

He said he received no training in maritime or night search-and-rescue operations.

The inquiry is examining the response to the MV Barima, which capsized and sank on July 18, 2026, while travelling from Georgetown to Port Kaituma.

Weeks testified that he received a telephone call shortly after midnight on July 19 from his commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Jocelyn Asthana, informing him that a vessel might be in distress offshore.

He proceeded to Eugene F. Correia International Airport at Ogle, where he prepared a Bell 407 helicopter alongside co-pilot Captain Andrew Crawford. The crew was instructed to await a drone team before departing.

The helicopter left Ogle at about 1.45 a.m. and landed at Hampton Court around 2.15 a.m. to drop off the drone team. Weeks was then directed to conduct aerial reconnaissance along the coastline in search of possible survivors who might have reached shore.

However, he said civil aviation regulations prevented him from flying the single-engine helicopter offshore at night.

“The Bell 407 is essentially a single engine helicopter, and civil aviation regulations would have prohibited me from flying offshore at night,” Weeks told the Commission.

The reported coordinates were about 8.5 to nine miles offshore, with Somerset identified as the nearest point of land. Instead, the crew searched along the coastline from Hampton Court towards the mouth of the Palmer River and back.

Weeks said the reconnaissance yielded no significant findings, despite the helicopter’s searchlight.

After returning to Hampton Court, he briefed Asthana and Colonel Ken Roberts, who was serving as Colonel General Staff, and awaited further instructions.

He later coordinated search efforts involving a private Omni Helicopters aircraft and an aircraft from the Barbados-based Regional Security System. Neither operation located survivors, according to his testimony.

Weeks said he could not confirm whether a formal search-and-rescue area had been established or an on-scene commander appointed. He explained that he had been following instructions to conduct aerial reconnaissance.

The inquiry also heard testimony from Captain Learie Barclay of Roraima Airways, who described the limitations his crew faced while searching over the sea in darkness.

Barclay said the aircraft relied on visual observation and distress flares because it lacked forward-looking infrared (FLIR) technology, which could have helped detect people in the water by identifying their body heat.

He said he did not believe additional sorties using the same aircraft would necessarily have improved the search without better equipment.

“The technology needs to be acquired,” Barclay said, arguing that FLIR could help crews locate people in near-total darkness rather than rely solely on visual sightings.

He also testified that no boat was operating in coordination with his aircraft during the mission. He was unaware whether a defined search area had been established and said the coordinates initially provided to him were about three nautical miles from the location where flares were sighted.

During his testimony, Barclay read from an air traffic control communication log in which he reported locating a flare and detecting a strong emergency locator transmitter signal.

Weeks later participated in coastal surveillance between July 20 and August 2, during which about 10 flights were conducted using Bell 407 and Bell 429 helicopters. He confirmed that one deceased person was spotted along the coastline on July 20 during a flight under his command.

The Commission is examining the circumstances surrounding the sinking, including the adequacy of the search-and-rescue response, coordination among agencies and possible shortcomings that may have affected the operation.