Galleons Passage US$19 M valuation disparity'Still a deal for TT'

FINANCE Minister Colm Imbert says the country got a "steal of a deal" for the Galleons Passage, paying US$17.4 million for the vessel which was valued at US$19 million.

Two valuations of the Galleons Passage, one by Oceanic Designs Surveys (ODS) and the other by Schulte Marine Concepts (SMC) were laid in Parliament last Friday which revealed the latter increased the value by US$19 million.

Both valuations were done a month apart and are contained in documents tabled by Imbert on Friday in the House. It was one of seven reports on the Galleons Passage transaction. Newsday sent emails on Saturday to both ODS and SMC in Australia, asking why two valuations conducted a month apart, showed such a wide gap in price for the Galleons Passage.

Contacted yesterday, Imbert said, "I'm told that the valuations are based on two different approaches. But it doesn't matter because both (valuations) were over US$17.4 million. The independent valuation is way above what was paid for the vessel. In the face of these two valuations and the Lloyds report, how can one say there are questions about value for money? That makes no sense."

It was almost a year after Gran Cacique abandoned its plan to buy the boat for the Venezuelan government, that ODS evaluated it for the seller, Sealease PTY of Australia. Gran Cacique had said in December 2016 it was buying the vessel from China and named it Donna Mercedes.

On November 17, ODS said in its valuation that the vessel, complete with all the fittings and fixtures, is US$19 million. Saying the vessel was launched in 2017 and the US$19 million was the current market value, ODS pointed out however, that the valuation was dependent on successful completion of the final stages of construction, fit-out and final survey certification.

It also said that its valuation described was a "desktop" survey of the Galleons Passage. The boat is being bought to service the seabridge, but it is currently in Santiago de Cuba undergoing minor retrofitting. A month after ODS' valuation, SMC valued the Galleons Passage for the TT government and upped the value by US$19 million.

Under the rubric "Comparative values," SMC stated in part, “Considering it is a new vessel, the estimated cost would be in the region of US$38 to US$40 million with high-quality European or International standard equipment throughout.”

The Galleons Passage is currenty in Santiago de Cuba undergoing minor retrofitting works. It is due in TT by next week.