GEORGETOWN – Guyana’s maritime gateway is experiencing a phenomenal boom, with Minister of Public Utilities and Aviation, Deodat Indar, announcing that traffic into the Demerara River has soared by an astonishing 54 per cent since the PPP/C took office in 2020. This massive surge in activity, from 2,037 ships in 2020 to 3,144 ships last year, is directly tied to a critical, long-overdue government cleanup effort that has had major economic consequences for consumers.
The heart of the expansion lies in making the Demerara River safe for international commerce. Minister Indar revealed that the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) has successfully removed 17 major shipwrecks that had been hazards to vessels navigating the channel. These underwater relics, some dating back decades, had given Guyana a reputation as an unsafe port in global nautical publications, directly impacting the cost of all goods entering the country.
The economic impact on the cost of living is significant. Indar stressed that the presence of these wrecks forced ship owners to pay “very high” insurance premiums for vessels entering the river. That inflated insurance cost was then inevitably passed on to consumers, driving up the price of everything from imported consumables to building materials. With the successful removal of the 17 wrecks through a rigorous tendering process, that particular risk premium is no longer a problem, which the Minister claims will now aid in the expansion of maritime traffic and reduce costs for consumers.
The cleanup effort is integral to the nation’s future as a regional hub. As oil and non-oil exports skyrocket, driving annual economic growth that has averaged 47 per cent since 2022, Guyana’s waterways are struggling to keep pace. The government is not only purchasing multi-million dollar pilot boats to guide the increasing number of Floating Production Storage and Offloading Vessels (FPSOs), drill ships, and supply ships but is also working on continuous dredging of the main channel. Minister Indar underscored that these infrastructure and safety investments are crucial to the President’s vision of making Guyana a competitive regional transshipment hub, ensuring the rivers can sustain the growth of the newly revitalized economy.
