Passengers remain stranded at Moleson Creek, Region Six, despite a new technical assessment proposing that the M.V. Canawaima continue operating for another three months.
The ferry service between Guyana and Suriname was suspended after Surinamese authorities identified technical concerns with the vessel.
A letter dated August 21 from marine surveyor Ing. Waldo Liauw Kwie Fong to the Canawaima Management Company proposes a rehabilitation programme that could extend the 30-year-old ferry’s service life by another 10 years.
But the assessment does not amount to official clearance for the ferry to resume operations.
At the Moleson Creek terminal Saturday, passengers were left waiting for information and exploring alternative ways to cross the Corentyne River legally.
Suriname national Giniva Rabrun said she and other travellers arrived early Saturday, only to learn that the ferry was not operating.
“We’ve been here [in Guyana] for six days. We came here [to Moleson Creek] and they say that the ferry doesn’t work,” Rabrun said.
She said the group needed their passports stamped so they could continue to Suriname.
“We probably would [go back another way], because if the ferry doesn’t work and there’s a couple of people that have to go back to work for the week, so we have no options.”
Another passenger, Josephine Chitoo Carole, who was travelling to Cayenne, French Guiana, said the journey home had become “very complicated.”
“We got some explanations, but very few,” she said.
Meanwhile, bus operator Randy, who has transported tourists between Guyana and Suriname since 2016, said he was focused on getting his passengers across.
“If my passengers can go over, then I arrange a bus on the other side. I don’t care if I have to stay a few more days, but my passengers,because they are tourists, they are not from here,” he said.
The surveyor’s letter says the ferry’s worst-affected hull areas have already been repaired, with further thickness testing scheduled from August 24.
It also says the vessel has no leaks and that fire safety systems meet design specifications.
However, the letter identifies outstanding documentation and regulatory issues, including missing safety, registration, tonnage and load-line certificates. It also says the vessel does not currently meet international SOLAS and MARPOL requirements.
Hull repairs are expected to continue through the week of August 24, under the surveyor’s supervision.
Until the outstanding requirements are addressed and the necessary authorities provide clearance, passengers remain without regular ferry service.
