The MV Kimbia is likely to be relocated to service the New Amsterdam-Berbice River route in the near future

… MV Kimbia to be dispatched to Berbice River

By Vahnu Manikchand

The ferry to be acquired with the $1.6 billion (US$8 million) loan recently approved by the Indian Government will service the Georgetown-North-West District (NWD) route, Transport Minister Robeson Benn has said.

 Benn, on Friday, explained that the Guyana Government had written to India requesting funding for the ferry. He noted that there were prior discussions between the two Governments on the matter.

President Donald Ramotar is currently in India where he is attending the 13th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas at Gandhinagar, Gujrat, India. On Wednesday, a meeting was held on the sidelines between India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and President Ramotar during which it was revealed that the Indian Government would grant a line of credit to purchase an ocean ferry.

“India has also agreed to concessional credit to supply a passenger ferry to help Guyana overcome transportation problems in the northern region,” a release published on the Press Information Bureau website stated.

Questioned about whether the ferry will be built in Guyana or sourced from India since that is the country providing the finances, Minister Benn told the Guyana Times that he could not say at this time, since he was not aware of what arrangements were made in India and would have to await the return of President Ramotar to get details of the agreement.

New, improved services
Nevertheless, the Minister disclosed that on the arrival of the new ferry, residents of the North-West region can expect new and improved services.
According to the Minister, there are currently two ferries that operate the North-West route. MV Kimbia runs the Georgetown to Mabaruma and Komaka routes in Region One (Barima-Waini) while MV Lady Northcote plies the Georgetown to Port Kaituma route.

The MV Kimbia is likely to be relocated to service the New Amsterdam-Berbice River route in the near future

He further stated that after the new vessel was in place, Government would remove the two existing ferries, one of which will be put out of service while the other would be sent to Region Six ( East Berbice-Corentyne)  to service the Berbice River route. The Minister stated that MV Kimbia would most likely be the vessel transferred to the Berbice River, since it was initially built to operate there; however, this was not confirmed since plans were still being made.

Over the years, there have been calls for the re-introduction of the ferry service in the Berbice River. Currently, farmers and residents from villages along the Berbice River use small boats to travel and get produce out.

The MV Kimbia is a passenger and cargo vessel that has the capacity to transport 200 passengers. It is said to be one of the oldest vessels in the maritime public transport system and has served the Transport and Harbours Department (T&HD) for more than 70 years.

Back in 2009, it had undergone repairs in the Vieira drydock facility located at Houston, Greater Georgetown. It was reported that some $35 million in Capital Expenditure was budgeted for repairs on the vessel, but a $53 million contract was signed. While repair works were being done additional problems were discovered and another $30 million had to be expended.

Then in 2013, MV Kimbia found itself back in a dockyard, this time at the Guyana National Industrial Corporation (GNIC), where it was for several months undergoing painstaking repairs.  During the repair process, maintenance workers once again discovered a series of mechanical problems. A $118 million contract was signed for the vessel to be docked at the GNIC facility.

Meanwhile in 2012, Minister Benn had told the National Assembly that MV Lady Northcote would have been put out of service due to obsolescence of its parts because of the vessel’s age. Lady Northcote is said to be about 77 years old, making it the oldest vessel of the T&HD fleet.

In March 2012, the ferry was docked for about two weeks after it caught fire while on its way to Georgetown from the North West. The fire was said to have been caused by an oil leak in its engine room. The Captain and crew members took swift action, following the necessary regulations to extinguish the flames.  While none of the 49 passengers on board were injured, a vehicle that was parked near the engine room sustained damage. Following this incident, engineers worked round-the close to repair the vessel and within 20 days it was back in operation.

A few years ago, the Governments of Guyana and China entered into an agreement to provide Guyana with two roll-on/roll-off ferries valued some US$14.4 million. The two vessels, The Sabanto and The Kanawan, arrived in January 2012, and were handed over to Government.  The ferries contain modern facilities such as a VIP Lounge and have the capacity to seat some 800 passengers and ferry 20 lorries or 44 cars. They are currently operating in the Essequibo River.

In his Budget 2014 presentation, Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh, disclosed that during 2013 Government expended $682.6 million on the docking of several ferry vessels, the acquisition of spares, and the rehabilitation of stellings across country. He further stated that in 2014, some $773.9 million was budgeted for dredging equipment, ferry vessels, spares and the rehabilitation of more stellings. (vahnuma@guyanatimesgy.com)