HGP Nightly News – Three companies are bidding to bring the sunken MV Barima back from the sea, with the highest local proposal topping $1.8 billion under a “no cure, no pay” arrangement.
The bids were opened by the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) on September 8 under tender file number 211/2026/34.Industrial Fabrication Inc. submitted a bid of $1.895 billion, backed by $28.5 million in security through Premier.
B.K. International Inc. submitted the lowest local bid at $1.034 billion, with $15.6 million in bid security through Nafico.
A third bid came from Dutch company KMS B.V., which submitted a proposal of US$2.0351 billion and bid security of US$136,691 through KBC Bank.
The companies are being asked to undertake the salvage operation on a “no cure, no pay” basis, meaning payment is tied to the successful recovery of the wreck.
The 87-year-old state-owned ferry sank late on July 18 while travelling from Georgetown to Port Kaituma.
The vessel issued a distress call at about 11 p.m. after encountering severe difficulties near Castle Flats, approximately 10 nautical miles off the Essequibo Coast.
The disaster claimed dozens of lives and triggered a Commission of Inquiry. The official manifest listed 133 people on board, but subsequent investigations estimated that about 179 persons were actually aboard.
That discrepancy has also exposed allegations of an illicit cash-for-seats operation at the port.
Captain Kevin Price, Chief Mate Rondell Roberts and Goods Superintendent Delon Granderson have since been charged with multiple counts of murder.
The three bids will now be evaluated as authorities move to determine who will undertake the recovery of the MV Barima.
