Dredging of Demerara River channel a top priority – Shipping Association

Feb 28, 2012 News

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–    targets Lethem as key transshipment point

The dredging of the Demerara River, training and a faster document processing system with the Guyana

Revenue Authority (GRA) remain major priorities of the Shipping Association of Guyana (SAG).
According to the association, this year it is set to resurge with a well crafted strategy to enhance its viability with the growth of Guyana’s maritime industry.
The SAG’s Chairman, Andrew Astwood, revealed that the association plans to host a stakeholders’ forum to discuss new challenges facing Guyana’s maritime sector.  He noted that the sector has been experiencing constant growth and needs to raise the level of its readiness to meet the demands for modernization and competitiveness of Guyana’s port operations.
“The forum which is one of the major items on the agenda in the first quarter of this year is expected to address the multiple challenges facing the sector in a comprehensive and sustainable manner,” SAG said in a release over the weekend.
The association said that Guyana’s maritime sector continues to be challenged to respond positively to international developments in the transportation sector.

 

DREDGING PRIORITY
“The issues that have reduced opportunities for a more significant growth pattern are inextricably linked to the delay in dredging the Demerara Navigational Channel to an acceptable depth, replacing navigational aids and all accompanying infrastructure, and instituting effective port security measures.”
With the Demerara harbour currently the main hub of all import and export trade, SAG last year lobbied to develop a Public/Private Partnership that would deliver a workable solution to enhance and modernize the existing port infrastructure. The initiative attracted the support of the wider private sector, particularly the main business support body, the Private Sector Commission (PSC).
“This initiative naturally has significant benefits for all operators in the maritime sector especially for entrepreneurs involved in the sugar, timber, fuel and cement industries.”
Regarding the recurring issue of delays with documents at the GRA, the association is pushing ahead with talks with the agency on the impending implementation of the Single Window Automated Processing System (SWAPS), a fully computerized system to be installed at the Customs and Trade Administration Department.
“Its main purpose is to reduce the time and cost of processing trade documents and quicken the pace of movement of cargo through the port.  The effectiveness of this system has been well tested and proven in Caribbean countries and around the business world.”

 

UG TRAINING
Meanwhile, training of workers and other stakeholders in the industry will involve closer collaboration with the Caribbean Maritime Institute (CMI).

“The CMI had in the past facilitated a diploma-level programme at the Critchlow Labour College and with the University of Guyana. SAG is already in discussion with the CMI seeking technical assistance to resuscitate University level programmes in Maritime Transportation and Transport Logistics. In the meantime, private terminal owners, shipping, brokerage and other operators have begun to identify their skill needs at all levels of their operations.”
The association is hoping for a need analysis which will be used as a basis to work along with the Ministry of Education with a view of possibly adding maritime-related training programmes to the curriculum of the University of Guyana.
In October 2011, SAG formed a strategic alliance with the U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command which serves as the liaison between the United States Navy and Maritime Commerce and Security in the Caribbean and Latin America.
“Officers in U.S. Maritime Liaison Unit (MARLU) discussed with SAG an initiative to establish a Maritime Security Council in the region which would eventually provide a blueprint for the entire Caribbean and Latin American Region.  The Caribbean Shipping Association (CSA) is the architect of this initiative.”
The shipping executive disclosed that the meeting with the U.S. Naval officers was another key item on the Association’s current agenda.  SAG is already drawing up plans to resuscitate the Guyana Maritime Security Committee which will actively involve the Guyana Police and Defence Forces.  The committee will be expected to function under the umbrella of the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD).

 

TRANSSHIPMENT FACILITY
Meanwhile, the association is also eyeing the benefits of Brazil possibly using Guyana as a transshipment point.
“With Guyana positioned on the Atlantic seaboard close to the islands of the Caribbean and the Atlantic Ocean, Brazilian business owners have already identified the tremendous benefits to be derived from utilizing our across-country corridors and transportation systems to access the Demerara port.”
Already, officials from the Brazilian business support organization, SEBRAE, had indicated early in negotiations that transporting Brazilian produce especially from the southern states of Roraima and Amazonia through Guyana to the Demerara Port would be less time consuming and costly than utilizing the Brazilian Atlantic ports in the north.”
The Government of Guyana is already on board with this “Economic Integration Programme” and has allocated an 80-acre parcel of land in the border town of Lethem for construction of a transshipment facility.
“SAG intends to spearhead the process that will involve movement of cargo through Guyana’s road and river corridors from Lethem to the Georgetown Port.  The membership of SAG had examined these initiatives in depth at a high level caucus held last October 2011 which was intended to prioritize the maritime enhancement strategy for quick implementation in 2012.”
However, for SAG, the most urgent agenda item is the critical development of the Demerara Harbour.
“The urgency of this programme could not be overstated since it has a direct bearing on the viability of local commerce and Guyana’s capacity to sustain existing market agreements with countries in the Caribbean, North America and Europe.”
Global economics and its technologies are advancing rapidly and with Guyana’s economic evolution at stake, Astwood stressed, “…it becomes imperative that new maritime structures, regulations and measures are implemented forthwith to ensure that this country could develop in tandem with our Caribbean and South American neighbours.”

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