Suriname maintains legal right to payments from Guyanese vessels plying Corentyne River

Last Updated on Saturday, 28 March 2026, 19:34 by Writer

Suriname is maintaining that it has a legal right to charge vessels to travel on its waters, and says that Guyana is free to ask for an extension of the exemption of the types of vessels that should not be charged levies for plying the Corentyne River.

“If Guyana wishes to further discuss the exemption granted at the time or to request an extension thereof, this may be submitted to Suriname through the usual diplomatic channels, in order to ascertain whether this is possible and in what form,” Suriname’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Cooperation said in a statement.

Demerara Waves Online News was told that the Guyana government has replied to the Suriname government, but no details were made available.

Frowning on the fact that President Irfaan Ali issued a public statement on Thursday, expressing concern that Guyanese vessels ferrying quarry products and wood from Guyana-based operations, the Suriname foreign ministry recalled that in 2012, Suriname had granted a specific and limited exemption from certain maritime levies exclusively for vessels operating in support of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo).

The ministry said that arrangement was a targeted cooperation measure and was “expressly not intended to be applied outside this defined scope.”

However, Demerara Waves Online News was reliably informed that it was only last November and in some cases last month that the Suriname Maritime Administration began charging Guyanese vessels to move sand, stone and timber from places such as Orealla-Siparuta along the Corentyne River to other areas in Guyana.

The Suriname government, for its part, insisted that the current structure of maritime charges was nothing new but was based on long-standing statutory provisions and established administrative practice regarding shipping within Surinamese jurisdiction.

Suriname sought to assure Guyana that those measures are applied consistently and non-discriminatorily to all vessels, in keeping with its national legislation and relevant international standards regarding safety, navigation, and the maintenance of waterways.

“The Government of Suriname emphasizes that the application of these levies does not constitute a new policy measure, nor does it entail a deviation from previously communicated regulations,” the ministry said in a statement.

The Suriname Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it dispatched correspondence dated January 12, 2026 via the diplomatic mission of Guyana but “no formal response has been received to date.”

Suriname said it preferred the use of the diplomatic channels as they are “a more effective form of communication for addressing such issues and is appropriate within diplomatic relations.”

Suriname maintains that the entire Corentyne River is her territory, but the Dutch government — when Suriname was a colony of The Netherlands — had conceded that the deepest channel of that waterway had formed the boundary.

President Ali on Thursday issued what appeared to be a veiled threat that Guyana would impose trade barriers on Surinamese businesses if Suriname continued to charge the levies.

“For me, reciprocity is very important and let’s see how this goes in another few days and, you know, as a country we will have to make the necessary adjustments to ensure that we are not placed at a disadvantage with the other businesses from Suriname,” he said.

Dr Ali reminded that Surinamese private sector businesses “enjoy a level of freedom and access here like any local business.”