M.V. Sabanto ferry has worked beyond daily operating schedule

M.V. Sabanto ferry has worked beyond daily operating schedule – T&HD

Jun 08, 2022 News

The M.V. Sabanto, the only working ferry traversing the Parika to Supenaam route.

Kaieteur News – The MV Sabanto has worked beyond schedule as it is currently the lone vessel ferrying passengers and vehicles on the Essequibo River between Parika and Supenaam since the M.V. Kanawan ferry is currently undergoing maintenance.
While the Transport and Harbour Department (T&HD) has confirmed that this is the state of affairs, there has been no mention of plans to bring on stream another vessel despite such a recommendation being made by the Essequibo business community.
The Essequibo Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ECCI), via a release, recently pointed out that the constraints of a single ferry plying the route has resulted in the delay of goods and services entering and leaving the region. But according to the T&HD in a statement dated June 6, 2022, the M.V. Sabanto ferry has worked beyond its usual daily operating schedule twice in the past few days. The transport department went on to state that the ferry departed Parika after 9pm on one occasion, and on another occasion after midnight.
These modifications, the department said, are specifically geared at alleviating traffic congestion at both Parika and Supenaam. In fact, the department made it clear that businesses were not greatly affected by the recent modifications.

Trucks parked in a line at Supenaam.

Kaieteur News had reported on May 28, last that the M.V. Kanawan ferry will be dry docked for rehabilitative works from June 1 and will not be in operation for five weeks, leaving the M.V Sabanto alone to offer ferrying services. But a few days after the process started, the business community and residents began voicing concerns.
The situation, some claimed, forced them to wait for hours in massive traffic congestion at the Parika and Supenaam Stellings.
The ECCI in weighing-in on the matter had advised government in a release that there should be a back-up ferry for such situations because the M.V. Sabanto alone cannot take off the massive flow of traffic to the Essequibo Coast on a daily basis.
ECCI in its release stated, “Since there is one ferry working, we recognise the constraints and pressure this one ferry will have to undergo while its sister vessel is on dry dock…Region Two is undergoing major transformation and such setbacks will hinder timely deliverance of goods and services to all sectors. By June 2, we would’ve already recognised the build-up of traffic at both ports Parika and Good Hope and we are hereby requesting the assistance of another ferry to assist in the backlog.”
Apart from delays in the supply of essential goods to the Region, ECCI also called for proper scheduling, as it relates to departure times, to be put in place to assist in reducing the congestion at the respective ports.
In making its case, ECCI pointed out that the Parika to Supenaam route is of pivotal importance because it bridges trade between Regions Two, Three and Four.

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