All operations of the Transport and Harbours Department  on the Essequibo Coast are now being conducted from the new Supenaam Stelling, as of Saturday last. 
The re-opening of the facility where operations ceased abruptly last year, just four days after it was put into use, as a result of a structure failure, is welcomed by Essequibians, especially the business community and farmers. By use of the new Supenaam stelling, the sailing time of the T&HD ferry vessels  have been significantly reduced from four and, at times, five hours, depending on the tide, to about two and a half hours.
Acting Manager of the Transport and Harbours Department (T&HD), Khevin Trim, had told GINA
last week that the stelling is now ready  and able to become functional once again, but that operations will be done in a vigilant manner, as a precautionary measure.
The re-opening of the facility was made possible following modification works executed by a joint T&HD and Demerara Harbour Bridge Corporation (DHBC) team,  followed by a successful test run conducted about two weeks ago.
The practice run lasted for approximately 40 minutes and saw 18 vehicles, predominantly trucks in 10-15 ton range, successfully off-loaded.
T&HD Acting Traffic Manager, Shaunna Jackson,  in a telephone interview with the Guyana Chronicle yesterday, confirmed that the T&HD operations are now re-located to the new Supenaam Stelling .
According to the official, following Saturday’s re-opening, the `M B Baramanni’ a pontoon-type vessel  operated by T&HD, with two trucks, three long canters and five small vehicles aboard, moored on schedule at 11:00hrs and off-loaded without any problems.
In addition to the pontoon, the Parika to Supenaam route will also be serviced by two other vessels, the‘MV Makouria’ and the ‘MV  Torani’, with the latter, which operates the Parika to Bartica route, being utilized only in cases when there is an excessive build-up of traffic.
The MV Baramanni and the MV Makouria will make one trip each, daily.
Jackson explained though, that only vehicles with a maximum of 16 tonnes are allowed to utilize the new facility, in contrast to what had obtained at the old Adventure stelling, where the restriction was 22 tonnes maximum.  
The reduction in tonnage will result in a further short-fall of revenue for T&HD, which already has to contend with the operations of a privately-operated pontoon service.