Nidco chairman says: Sale of TT Express not affected by covid19

TWO YEARS after the Prime Minister announced Government’s decision to sell the TT Express, the vessel still remains moored near the port of Port of Spain. Newsday was told on Monday that the covid19 pandemic hasn’t had any significant effect on efforts to sell the vessel.

The challenges to get it sold are in the offers made thus far, National Infrastructure Development Co Ltd (Nidco) chairman Herbert George told Newsday, adding that Nidco has two offers on the table which are being examined.

He said they may accept the offer with the “highest possible figure” since, “the value of ‘scrap’ is very much a function of what the ‘scrap dealer’ is willing to pay.

“What I can tell you is that no one is out there waiting to pay an attractive price for a used vessel, as is, where is. At best, they are all looking for a bargain. We are trying to move the envelope in favour of the State,” he said via WhatsApp. If the offers remain lower than the cost government anticipates, Nidco would have to go to plan B.

“What will eventually happen is that we may be forced to accept price X…What one is facing is a situation in which a prospective buyer is offering X for an asset that is reasonably valued at Y, where X is significantly lower than Y. That leads to protracted haggling. One may even have to abort a call and reissue a fresh call at a later date. Hence the time spent in selling.”

George didn’t want to go into detail about the offers received but he said what buyers are willing to pay for the 23-year-old vessel isn’t what Nidco is hoping to get.

Asked how much that was, George just said, “We want the best offer, because we don’t want to affect the offers that may come our way. Once you put a price out there, they will be guided by that and our future efforts will be doomed.”

So, he said, “There is nothing on which I can report at this time. We are still in the marketplace searching for the best offer. Once we have found that offer, we will submit it to Cabinet for their decision.” He said the vessel’s condition may be deteriorating while it awaits a suitable buyer.

The ferry was bought in 2008 for $20 million and sailed the inter-island seabridge for 12 years before it was pulled in 2018. Over the years the Express experienced several electrical and mechanical issues. Last September the Prime Minister said it would cost the government around $10 million to repair if it hadn’t decided to sell the boat.