The management of the Guyana/Suriname Ferry Service yesterday advised that the M.V. Canawaima will be out of operation until further notice due to an engine failure.
The statement said that the service was down from September 21, 2022 and would “remain out of service until further notice.”
According to the management, this was due to mechanical failure of the second engine onboard the MV. Canawaima. It assured that “we are working assiduously to have same rectified in order to resume service between Guyana and Suriname at the soonest possible time.”
In March of this year, the management had also announced that the ferry would be down for one day to facilitate emergency repairs to the vessel.
It was only in February, 2021, that ferry travel between Guyana and Suriname resumed after an almost year-long hiatus due to the then COVID-19 travel restrictions.
The ferry service is an important aspect of travel between Guyana and Suriname, as often times when the ferry is down persons use unsafe routes and means to travel across the Corentyne River.
In February, 2021, two women and a man went missing after they were dropped off on a “sand bank” located at Number 63 Beach while en route to Guyana from Suriname.
Two of them, Babuni Harihar, also known as ‘Doris’, 75, of Number Two Village, East Canje, Berbice and Alwin Joseph, originally from Betsy Ground Village, East Canje Berbice drowned while making their way to shore, while the body of the other woman, Sherida Hussain, also known as ‘Sherry’, 49, of Lot 274 Pilot Street, New Amsterdam, was discovered several days later.
Whenever the ferry is down, the business community is also significantly affected as businesses are unable to move goods and services between the countries.
