A Guyana-Suriname-Trinidad and Tobago ferry service is envisaged as one of four proposed routes for an Intra-regional ferry service mooted in a document prepared by the Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLAC) titled, “Proposal for the implementation of a ferry service through Public Private Partnerships (PPP’s) in the Eastern Caribbean Region”.
The submission appears to place the twin-island Republic at the centre of what is being described as an envisaged well-connected regional port transportation system, facilitating travel among the territories. Significantly, the ECLAC submission appears to see the envisaged ferry service as a partial solution to intra-regional connectivity challenges. It points out that while the region already offers ferry options as an alternative to enhanced connectivity, those options are usually on offer over short distances and between islands of the same country or its neighbours, with few exceptions.
The necessity for an intra-regional ferry service arises not only in the context of the long-standing air travel limitations which the Caribbean continues to face, but also on account of the volumes of anticipated cargo that will have to move among member countries of CARICOM once the planned regional food security initiative gets underway. Capacity apart, the study points to the high costs associated with air travel in the region. It says that those factors have implications mostly for the small and fragmented size of the market, singling out high costs, low frequency, and inconvenient itineraries serving as serious barriers to regional connectivity. The report also notes that taxes, fees, and charges in the region are also high and represent approximately 35 per cent of the cost of a one-way airfare, much higher than the worldwide average of approximately 15 per cent.
The three other regional ferry routes put forward in the ECLAC paper are:
• Route 1: Colombia, Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, T&T
• Route 3: Puerto Rico, Antigua and Barbuda, Guadeloupe and Saint Lucia.
• Route 4: Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent, Grenada and T&T.
The study also notes that the inadequate current port infrastructure and connectivity services available in the region give rise to the need for investment in infrastructure to handle higher volumes of passengers and cargo, opening the possibility for possible private sector participation.
