Indar yet to give Mahipaul update on salvaging MV Barima

Last Updated on Tuesday, 25 August 2026, 17:45 by Denis Chabrol

Opposition A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) parliamentarian, Ganesh Mahipaul on Tuesday said minister of maritime regulation, Deodat Indar has so far not yielded to his formal request for information on efforts to hire a company to salvage the ferry MV Barima that sank more than one month ago.

“It is most unfortunate that the minister has not responded and, notwithstanding that, I maintain that there is need for us to have clarity as a nation on the salvaging of the MV Barima.,” he said.  Of government’s officially estimated 179 passengers and crew members who were aboard when the vessel sank on July 19 at sea enroute from Georgetown to Port Kaituma, 76 persons had been rescued and the bodies of 72 others recovered.

Though President Irfaan Ali two weeks ago said about 10 companies had submitted expressions of interest by the deadline of August 14 to raise the vessel, Mr Mahipaul said that was insufficient. By now, he said government was further obligated to provide a detailed update. He said the minister Indar did not acknowledge or reply to his letter of Monday, August 25 requesting how many and the names of companies that submitted expressions of interest, whether the evaluation process has been completed and, if so, the name of the company or companies being engaged to salvage the vessel and when would that exercise begin.

Mr Indar also did not respond to  queries from Demerara Waves Online News.

MARAD, in its request for expressions of interest, said it wanted a company that would be able to preserve forensic evidence for the Commission of Inquiry which the President signaled is expected to begin hearings next month.

The APNU parliamentarian again criticised government for failing to act speedily by sole-sourcing a competent salvaging company to do the job, in the same manner that a contractor had been hired to fix a massive East Bank Demerara road bulge in October 2023.  He said it was “unfair, it is unacceptable and it is unethical” for government not to have taken every step necessary to speedily salvage the vessel in order to bring justice to the families who have lost loved ones and the survivors of the country’s deadliest tragedy to have affected Guyanese.  “It is more unfair to the Guyanese people and I believe the government should stop playing cheap politics and get on the ball of salvaging this vessel which is beyond party politics. It’s a national request and Guyanese people are hurting,” he said.

In addition to what he regarded as moral right by government to provide crucial information and take action, Mr Mahipaul relied on the Procurement Act for mandatory disclosure of the relevant information upon request. That law, however, only provides for the provision of such information to any person after a tender has been accepted and and a public notice has been published, or after procurement proceedings have been terminated.