Sunken MV Barima could cost US$10M to salvage — Nandlall

What this source establishes

The first cost figure the state has given for raising the vessel — US$8 to 10 million, from the Attorney General, with no basis or estimate cited. It is also the closest thing in this corpus to a government explanation of why the memorial proposal was dropped: Nandlall says the President met the families, that they had asked the vessel not be raised, that they then changed their minds, and that the government agreed. No state document says any of that. He also accuses the opposition of exploiting the tragedy and defends the open tender as the alternative to handpicking. The bottom of his range matches the US$8 million in the leaked KMS proposal reported the day before.

Key claims

• **The first cost figure from the state for raising the vessel.** Attorney General Anil Nandlall gives a range of **US$8M to US$10M**.
• Nandlall, verbatim, and it is also the state's first account of how the memorial decision was reversed: "The president indicated that he met with the families of the persons who were missing and they requested that they ought not to be raised. Apparently, the families changed their minds and they requested that the boat be raised. The government said, okay, we will raise the boat. It will cost somewhere between 8 to 10 million US dollars. A tender is out to salvage the boat."
• **That is the closest thing in this corpus to a government explanation of the reversal**, and it attributes the change to the families changing their minds rather than to any decision of the state. No state document says so.
• On the criticism, Nandlall: "I see the opposition politicians continue to exploit the MV Barima tragedy for their narrow political agendas…this tragedy has energised them. It has given them oxygen and they are using the grief and the anguish and the pain of people to advance political causes."
• And on the procurement: "If the government had gone and chosen some company to do the job, they would have said that government is handpicking some family or friend and they would be a cover up. Now the government has gone to open tender and that now they have a problem…"
• Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed, quoted in the same report: "Families have reached out to me saying they want the bodies of their loved ones, even if all that remain are bones. It will bring closure." And: "The government did not exhaust every possible option. They have not sought out international help with the expertise and equipment to recover that vessel. Yet, they are already talking about turning it into a memorial."
• [UNRESOLVED] No basis for the US$8–10M range is given, and no study or estimate is cited. The **KMS proposal reported the previous day quoted US$8M**, at the bottom of the Attorney General's range.

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