—PM Hinds
– local container traffic saw a growth of 2.76 % last year with 61,500 containers passing through Port Demerara
A DEEP water harbour would ease the strain and the many complaints of those involved in the shipping business, according to Prime Minister Samuel Hinds. He was at the time addressing those gathered at the Annual Dinner and Awards Ceremony of the Shipping Association of Guyana (SAG), held at the Pegasus Hotel in Georgetown last Friday evening.

According to the Prime Minister, while there are calls for more to be done to address the challenges of the shipping industry and ensure more leverage for its operations, this will not be achieved without the adequate taxing being applied.

Also speaking at the evening’s proceedings were Chairman of SAG, Andrew Astwood, and its Trustee and Immediate Past President, Clinton Williams.
The night’s activities were chaired by Phillip Fernandes.

CRITICAL SUPPORT
Chairman Astwood said that without continued cooperation and interest in the works of the SAG, the body would not be able to fulfill its mandate. The body, he said, would be unable to continue its role of improving services in the maritime sector had it not been for the support it had received over the years.
This year’s awards ceremony was held under the theme ‘Taking the Guyana Maritime Sector to the Next Level’.
Acknowledging that the local shipping industry was small compared to other parts of the world, Chairman Astwood said the Guyana operations continue to show growth, and there needs to be readiness to meet the demands for the modernization and competitiveness of the port operations in Guyana.

Closely linked to the local development strategy of Guyana, the Shipping Association has made strides in pursuit of the strategic plans for development of the maritime sector, the chairman added. He explained that the works of the body in the year 2011 focused on the challenges to the business and performances of the maritime sector, which are seen as critical areas.
Among those challenges are training of personnel, port safety, dredging of the Demerara Channel, improving the trade facilitation process, working with the metal recyclers association, meetings with local and international stakeholders, and establishing a transshipment station at Lethem.

While trying its best to improve on the quality of its work, including service delivery, the industry has been able to record growth in several areas. Astwood explained that the local container traffic saw a growth of 2.76 percent; in that 61,500 containers passed through Port Demerara, as compared to 59,850 for 2010. Imports at 38,799 containers (Twenty Equivalent Units -TEUs- twenty-foot containers) grew by 12 percent over the previous year, which saw 34,708 containers being exported, as against 22,714 containers (TEUs) being imported. This was 9.6 percent below the previous year’s 25,142 (TEUs).
Astwood attributed the growth in part to the restriction of the non-traditional exports, including scrap metal.
In addition to the cargo increase, the association has also recorded higher passenger arrivals, with five cruise vessels with over five hundred tourists docking at Port Georgetown.

GROWTH STYMIED
It is the view of the Association’s chairman that further growth in shipping has been reduced because of the delay in addressing critical challenges and issues that are linked to the operations of the industry; and these include dredging of the Demerara River Channel.

Mr. Astwood made it clear that the association would be keeping main issues, some of which he said are old, on the front burner; and more engagement with stakeholders will be evident in this calendar year, as the association remains optimistic that positive outcomes would be the order of the day.

Meanwhile, port development and maritime security and training will be among the initiatives to be prioritised as part of the Shipping Association of Guyana’s Maritime Enhancement Strategy (MES).

In his address, Trustee and Immediate Past President of the GSA, Clinton Williams, pointed out that, the world over, maritime transportation accounts for over 90 percent of the world’s trade. Here in Guyana, maritime transportation provides the most cost effective and most efficient means of movement of products, he asserted.

With the emerging oil and gas sector, manganese, uranium and massive expansion expected in the gold, bauxite and quarry sectors, the shipping industry is expected to experience significant developmental impacts.
Also underscored by the IPP was the need for suitable vessels to effectively serve the new challenges, the diversification of the training programmes, inclusion of specialised safety and security programmes, and specialised bulk terminals and handling facilities to deal with the new type of cargo.

Dredging of the Demerara Channel is of utmost importance to any form of development of the shipping industry. Williams pointed out that with Port Georgetown being the key port for all Guyana’s containerized exports and imports, the restrictions in ships’ access, which is constantly under threat by siltation, must be removed and the channel maintained.

In the period 2008 to 2011, the six-metre chart datum has dropped drastically to approximately four (4) metres. According to Clinton Williams, this leads to a 60 to 70 percent reduction rate of the cargo-carrying capacity of the vessels. The end result is more expenditure on the part of ship owners and/or operators, and this increased cost eventually trickles down to customers.

Thus effective port measures, replacement of navigational aids and accompanying infrastructure and service, as well as the delay in dredging the Demerara Channel to an acceptable depth are all challenges to the growth of the sector. These challenges could, however, be things of the past if there is a private/public partnership approach for the management of operations of the Demerara Channel, the Shipping Association of Guyana (SAG) believes.
A body involving the Guyana Police Force, the Guyana Defence Force, the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD), the Guyana Fire Service and the Shipping Association of Guyana is needed to protect against piracy and other criminal acts at sea. This continues to be a priority of the Association, Williams added.