By LCN Business Desk
A salvage tender usually asks one question: who can lift the thing, and for how much. The MV Barima tender asks a second one. The winning contractor has to bring the wreck up in a condition that a Commission of Inquiry can still read.
Two Guyanese companies and one Netherlands-headquartered firm submitted bids to the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) to raise the ferry, which sank on 18 July about 10 miles off Devonshire Castle village on the Essequibo Coast. Of an estimated 179 passengers and crew, 77 were rescued and 72 went missing.
Who bid, and what did they bid?
Nine firms were shortlisted after filing expressions of interest at the request of the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD). Three of them tabled offers.
| Bidder | Domicile | Bid, as reported by Demerara Waves |
|---|---|---|
| KMS B.V. | Netherlands | US$2,035,100 |
| Industrial Fabrications Inc. (InFab) | Guyana | US$1,895,000 |
| BK International Inc. | Guyana | US$1,034,000 |
Two of the three arrive with a Guyanese track record attached. KMS B.V. is associated with Koole Contractors, engaged five years ago for an initial GYD$787.6 million to remove sunken vessels from the Demerara River and along sections of the coast so that marine traffic could pass safely. InFab has over the years carried out extensive emergency repairs to the now defunct floating Demerara Harbour Bridge.
That Koole figure is the most useful comparator in the file. It bought a programme of wreck removals across a river and a coastline. The Barima tender buys the recovery of a single vessel, under evidentiary conditions, in open water.
The bids go to evaluation before negotiations for a contract begin.
Why do the published figures disagree?
Because two Guyanese outlets have published the same three numbers in different currencies.
Demerara Waves gives the bids in United States dollars, citing NPTAB records. News Source Guyana published the same tender under the headline "Bids Range from $1B to $2B to Salvage MV Barima", reading the same digit strings as Guyana dollars. The two readings sit roughly a thousandfold apart: the first puts the range at about US$1 million to US$2 million, the second at about US$5 million to US$10 million.
NPTAB's bid opening sheet is the document that settles which unit was entered. The board's website did not resolve on 11 September 2026.
What does the tender require beyond lifting a ferry?
The preservation of evidence.
Among the terms of reference in the request for expressions of interest is a requirement that the salvager be able to preserve forensic evidence for the Commission of Inquiry into the 18 July incident. That condition changes the nature of the work. A commercial wreck removal is judged on whether the obstruction is gone and the seabed is clear. This one will also be judged on whether the hull, its fittings and its contents come up in a state that an inquiry can still examine.
It also narrows the field in a way a price column does not show. A contractor who can lift tonnage cheaply is not automatically a contractor who can lift it intact, document the lift, and hand over a chain of custody.
What else is running at the same time?
Two separate proceedings, on their own timetables.
The Commission of Inquiry into the sinking is expected to begin public hearings later this month, according to its secretariat. Separately, the captain, the first mate and the Transport and Harbours Department Goods Superintendent have been charged with murder.
So the wreck is at once a procurement object, an inquiry exhibit and, potentially, material in a criminal matter. The sequence matters: the evaluation and the contract negotiation sit in front of the lift, and the inquiry's hearings begin before the lift does.
Why does a salvage tender belong on a regional business page?
Because the terms of reference are where a procurement system either holds or does not.
Guyana's public procurement record is examined elsewhere on the same terms. This newspaper reported in August on the government's original call for salvage contractors for the Barima, and this month on how the region's audit offices differ in whether their findings reach the public at all, with Guyana's Auditor General having met his statutory deadline for a fourteenth consecutive year. The same country has had to consider whether a contractor sanctioned abroad can be treated as rehabilitated at home, a question examined here through Germany's self-cleaning standard.
Ferry procurement in Guyana is also a live commercial question in its own right, not only an emergency one. Reliability on the interior routes carries freight, not only passengers.
What the title card shows
- Bids submitted to NPTAB to salvage the MV Barima, as reported by Demerara Waves citing NPTAB records: KMS B.V. (Netherlands) US$2,035,100, **Industrial Fabrications Inc. (InFab) US$1,895,000, BK International Inc. US$1,034,000**.
- Nine firms shortlisted after expressions of interest at the request of the Maritime Administration Department; three bids submitted. Source: Demerara Waves, 9 September 2026.
- Wreck location: about 10 miles off Devonshire Castle village, Essequibo Coast. Sank **18 July 2026**.
- Aboard: an estimated 179 passengers and crew; 77 rescued, 72 missing. Source: Demerara Waves.
- Comparator: GYD$787.6 million, the initial engagement of Koole Contractors five years ago to remove sunken vessels from the Demerara River and sections of the coast. KMS B.V. is associated with Koole. Source: Demerara Waves.
- Terms of reference require the salvager to **preserve forensic evidence for the Commission of Inquiry. Commission public hearings expected later in September 2026**, per the CoI secretariat.
- **The captain, first mate and Transport and Harbours Department Goods Superintendent have been charged with murder.** Source: Demerara Waves.
- Currency of the bids is reported differently by two outlets. Demerara Waves states US dollars; News Source Guyana published the range as $1B to $2B. NPTAB's own bid opening sheet was not reachable on 11 September 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many companies bid to salvage the MV Barima?
Three. Nine firms were shortlisted after filing expressions of interest at the request of the Maritime Administration Department, and three submitted bids: KMS B.V. of the Netherlands, and the Guyanese firms Industrial Fabrications Inc. and BK International Inc.
Which bid was the lowest?
BK International Inc., at US$1,034,000 as reported by Demerara Waves citing NPTAB records. The bids go to evaluation before contract negotiations begin, so the lowest price is not on its own the award.
Why are different figures circulating for the same bids?
Demerara Waves reports the bids in United States dollars. News Source Guyana published the same tender with the range given as $1B to $2B, reading the same digits as Guyana dollars. NPTAB's bid opening sheet is the record that resolves it, and the board's website did not resolve on 11 September 2026.
What makes this tender different from an ordinary wreck removal?
The terms of reference require the salvager to preserve forensic evidence for the Commission of Inquiry into the sinking. The wreck has to come up in a condition an inquiry can still examine, not merely be cleared from the seabed.
What happens next?
NPTAB evaluates the bids, then negotiations for a contract begin. The Commission of Inquiry is expected to open public hearings later this month, ahead of any lift.