Ali says Barima recovery bids remain under technical review

President Irfaan Ali said Thursday that technical officials are still evaluating proposals to salvage the MV Barima, which sank while travelling from Georgetown to Port Kaituma. Speaking to members of the Guyanese diaspora in New York, Ali said a contractor would be chosen after the assessment is complete.

The sinking occurred on July 18 and resulted in 73 confirmed deaths. Dozens of people remain missing, and the vessel is still on the seabed off the Essequibo Coast. The planned recovery is intended to bring the ship up from the water and also preserve material that may help establish what happened.

Nine companies initially submitted Expressions of Interest for the work. Three later presented bids: Guyanese firms BK International Inc. and Industrial Fabrications Inc., known as InFab, and Netherlands-based KMS B.V. The government has not yet announced which company will receive the contract.

Figures made public when the bids were opened earlier this month put BK International’s offer at US$1.034 million, the lowest of the three. InFab proposed US$1.895 million, while KMS B.V. submitted a bid of US$2.035 million. The amounts are being considered as part of the evaluation, but Ali said the technical review remains underway.

The president rejected suggestions that the government was seeking to avoid recovering the vessel or examining the disaster. He said the selection process was active and that the government was not evading an investigation. Ali’s comments came as families await developments in both the recovery operation and the inquiry into the loss of life.

The salvage work is expected to support a Commission of Inquiry established to investigate the circumstances of the sinking. The contract requirements call for the selected contractor to protect forensic evidence during the operation, so that relevant material can be available to the commission. Preserving evidence is therefore a stated part of the recovery assignment, alongside retrieving the ship.

Ali also said he would not interfere with the commission’s work. His remarks distinguish the government’s role in selecting and overseeing a salvage contractor from the inquiry’s role in examining the causes and circumstances of the tragedy. The process now moves forward with officials reviewing the three bids before making a selection.

No timetable for completing the evaluation or beginning salvage work was provided in the information released. The vessel remains underwater, and the government’s next step is to choose a contractor whose work must account for the commission’s need to retain potential forensic evidence.