Netherlands-based KMS B.V., whose earlier proposal said it had been invited by the Government through the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) to recover the MV Barima before the public procurement process began, is among three companies that have now submitted formal bids to salvage the wreck.
But it was BK International Inc which has submitted the lowest of the three according to a National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) record seen by Kiskadee Watch.
The local company tendered $1.034 billion, while Industrial Fabrication Inc, also of Guyana, submitted a bid of $1.895 billion. The third bidder, Netherlands-based KMS B.V., tendered $2.0351 billion.
The bids were opened on September 8 under a procurement exercise being conducted for the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD). The NPTAB document identifies the project as the salvaging of the wreck from the Devonshire Castle Flats, Essequibo Coast, on a “no cure, no pay” basis.
Under that arrangement, payment is ordinarily subjected to the successful completion of the salvage operation, although the full contractual conditions have not been released.
BK International submitted bid security of $15.6 million through NAFICO, while Industrial Fabrication submitted security of $28.5 million through Premier Insurance. KMS provided security of US$136,691 through KBC Bank.
The two local companies submitted valid Guyana Revenue Authority and National Insurance Scheme compliance documents, according to the record. Those requirements were listed as not applicable to KMS. All three companies signed their tender forms and each supplied two electronic copies on flash drives.
The submissions will now have to be evaluated, and the lowest price does not automatically determine the award. The assessment is expected to include the companies’ technical capacity, proposed salvage method and ability to preserve evidence for the Commission of Inquiry into the sinking.
KMS is the Dutch company at the centre of earlier questions about whether a prospective contractor had been approached before MARAD publicly advertised the salvage opportunity.
Kiskadee Watch reported in August that it had reviewed extracts from a document purportedly submitted by KMS which stated that the company had been invited by the Government of Guyana, through MARAD, to submit a proposal for righting and recovering the ferry.
The proposal, identified as revision REV001 of project 726049 and titled “Righting & one-piece recovery of MV Barima, Essequibo, Guyana”, offered to undertake the operation for a lump sum of US$8 million.
It proposed righting the vessel through a controlled buoyancy-assisted process known as parbuckling, lifting it intact with a dynamically positioned heavy-lift vessel, placing it on a barge and transporting it to a location in Guyana for examination. The operation was projected to take between six and seven weeks, subject to the weather and the findings of an initial survey.
In an August 7 statement, MARAD denied that any company had been selected or was being considered outside the public procurement process. It said the eventual contractor would be chosen through a transparent and competitive exercise.
However, the department did not say whether KMS had been approached before the public invitation was issued or whether its preliminary proposal helped to shape the subsequent procurement exercise.
The appearance of KMS among the three bidders now confirms that the company subsequently participated in the competitive process.
President Irfaan Ali had said that approximately ten or more companies submitted expressions of interest by the August 14 deadline. He explained that qualified companies would be shortlisted and subsequently invited to submit prices. The government did not disclose the identities of those companies or how many were shortlisted.
The NPTAB record now establishes that three companies reached the price-submission stage.
The invitation requires the selected salvager to recover the vessel in a manner that protects and documents forensic evidence for use by the Commission of Inquiry.
The MV Barima sank on July 18 while travelling from Georgetown to Port Kaituma. Seventy-six persons were rescued, 73 deaths have been confirmed and approximately 30 people remain unaccounted for.
The government initially considered leaving the wreck on the seabed as a memorial and sought the views of affected families. It subsequently decided to pursue salvage amid calls from relatives, civil society and opposition parties for the vessel to be recovered and examined.
The captain, Kevin Price; Chief Mate Rondell Dwayne Roberts; and Transport and Harbours Department Goods Superintendent Delon Granderson have since been charged with 72 counts of murder arising from the tragedy. They have not pleaded to the indictable charges.
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