‘Ordinary Salvage vs. Forensic Recovery’

By Marvin Cato | HGP Nightly News |

GEORGETOWN, GUYANA — A coalition of civil society organizations and public-interest advocates has issued an urgent demand for the Government of Guyana to immediately cancel the $1.034 billion contract awarded to BK International Inc. to raise the sunken state ferry MV Barima, insisting that the high-stakes underwater operation must be reassigned to an internationally certified, specialist marine salvage contractor.

In a comprehensive joint statement released on Friday, the civic coalition warned that raising the sunken vessel is not a routine marine clearing exercise, but a critical, evidence-sensitive forensic operation.

The groups cautioned that utilizing a local civil contractor lacking specialized forensic credentials risks compromising, distorting, or destroying vital physical evidence required to determine why the ferry capsized and foundered on July 18, 2026, claiming over 70 lives.

The coalition also called on the executive to institute a formal, independent technical marine casualty investigation under the Guyana Shipping Act, pointing out that an administrative Commission of Inquiry (CoI) cannot serve as a legal or technical substitute for a statutory casualty probe mandated under International Maritime Organization (IMO) standards.

Procurement Flaws: ‘Zero Visibility, Strong Currents, No Track Record’

The coalition raised serious questions regarding the procurement and evaluation process overseen by the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD):

• Tender Requirements Ignored: MARAD received tenders from three bidding firms. However, civil society groups contend that none of the three bidders satisfied the tender’s mandatory evaluation criteria: five to ten years of documented, successful marine salvage experience in Guyana or wider Caribbean waters under complex operational parameters (including extreme Atlantic swells, strong tidal rips, and zero underwater visibility).
• Lowest Price vs. Technical Capability: While BK International secured the award based on submitting the lowest financial proposal at $1.034 billion, the coalition stressed that the company’s primary portfolio lies in general civil construction, sea defense rip-rap works, and domestic barging—not specialized deep-water wreck extrication.
• The Darren B Precedent: To demonstrate the contractor’s lack of internal salvage capacity, the coalition cited the precedent of BK International’s own aggregate barge, the Darren B, which sank in the Demerara River in November 2014. The vessel remained a dangerous navigational hazard for years until the state intervened, after which it was raised by renowned Dutch marine salvage specialist Koole Contractors—an international firm that also tendered for the MV Barima recovery contract.

Ordinary Salvage vs. Forensic Salvage: The Chain of Custody

The joint statement established a sharp distinction between clearing commercial scrap and conducting a sensitive forensic recovery:

• Ordinary Salvage: Conventional operations focus purely on pulling steel from waterways using heavy lifting slings, cranes, and chains, often cutting, dragging, or crushing the hull with little regard for preservation.
• Forensic Salvage: A controlled engineering methodology that prioritizes preserving the vessel’s as-found state, documenting hull fractures, recording damage distributions, preserving fuel and ballast tank valves, analyzing cargo lashing points, and rigorously safeguarding the legal chain of custody for introduction into criminal and judicial proceedings.
• Preserving Court Evidence: With Captain Kevin Price, First Mate Rondell Roberts, and Goods Superintendent Delon Granderson facing 72 counts of murder in the Magistrate’s Court, advocates cautioned that unscientific recovery could compromise key physical exhibits, directly impacting prosecution and defense efforts.

CoI Is No Substitute for Statutory Shipping Act Probe

Broadening their critique to statutory compliance, the civic bodies reminded the administration of Guyana’s binding treaty obligations:

• SOLAS & IMO Guidelines: As an active member of the International Maritime Organization and a signatory to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), 1974, Guyana is bound by the Code of the International Standards and Recommended Practices for a Safety Investigation into a Marine Casualty or Marine Incident (Casualty Investigation Code).
• Shipping Act Compliance: The coalition argued that while the Presidential Commission of Inquiry, chaired by retired Justice Godfrey Smith, provides broad policy and systemic review, it cannot replace an independent, technical marine safety investigation led by licensed master mariners, naval architects, and marine engineers as prescribed under the Guyana Shipping Act.

The groups are calling on the Cabinet, MARAD, and the Ministry of Public Works to suspend the execution of the contract immediately, initiate an open, transparent review of the tender, and engage an accredited international forensic salvage operator to ensure justice for the victims and their families.