Teething problems snag MV Konawaruk 1899

Last Updated on Saturday, 20 December 2025, 10:30 by Writer

MV KONOWARUK 1899, Essequibo River – A recently acquired Greece-made ferry vessel was Friday commissioned on the Essequibo River and renamed Konawaruk 1899 to further imprint Guyana’s legal right to the region being claimed by neighbouring Venezuela.

Bought for just under US$5 million, the vessel will ply the Parika- Supenaam route across the Essequibo River, South America’s third longest after the Amazon and Orinoco.

Moments after Prime Minister Mark Phillips, a retired brigadier general and former chief of the Guyana Defence Force, commissioned the vessel as it proceeded on its two-hour long maiden trip across the country’s coffee brown waterway, a large map of Guyana was unveiled with an explanation for the naming of the vessel: Konawaruk is a significant area in Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni).

Accompanying that physical map of Guyana was a brief explanation about the 1899 Arbitral Tribunal Award that settled the land boundary between Guyana (then British Guiana) and Venezuela. The controversy over the validity of the 1899 Arbitral Tribunal Award is before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) which will hand down its ruling in the coming months.

Public works minister Juan Edghill later told Demerara Waves Online News that the government has been naming all of its marine craft after rivers and important places.

Teething Problems

Though top government officials boasted about works done to adjust the mooring facilities to accommodate the ferry, previously named ARIS IV, it was evident at Parika and Supenaam that more physical adjustments are needed.

Police and security vehicles risked being damaged as they drove onto the ferry at Parika. To prevent such occurrences, planks of greenheart were placed to allow the vehicles to enter the ferry trouble-free.

On arrival at Supenaam, after the MV Konawaruk 1899 docked, commuters, Prime Minister Mark Phillips and several government ministers waited for more than 15 minutes before the bow door for the roll-on/roll-off vessel could have been lowered.

Sailors and other crew members worked feverishly to lower the door, and when they did, it did not land flat on the bridge. This necessitated even the Director-General of the Maritime Administration (MARAD) to inspect and be briefed about the problem. Planks of wood were also placed at the Supenaam wharf to allow vehicles to drive off as there was a slight elevation between the lowered door and the bridge.

Eventually, passengers and vehicles were allowed to leave.

Officials said the new ferry was purchased to move increased volumes of cargo including rice, paddy and machinery from Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam).

Public works minister Juan Edghill said the now 20-year old Chinese-made Sabanto and Kanawan ferries would continue to ply the Parika-Supenaam route.

He said a second ferry will be arriving next month from Greece to be deployed to the Georgetown-North West District route.