Greater protection, new technologies needed for seafarers – Min Edghill

Newer technologies and greater protection for seafarers should be on the agenda with the country now host to a budding oil sector and the other developments that are trickling in.

These were the sentiments of Public Works Minister Juan Edghill during the observance of World Seafarer’s Day on Friday.
“We can’t continue just doing what we did. The voyage then is totally different from the voyage now. Much more is happening. Maybe there is a need for us to engage the insurance industry for greater or a specialised package that could be suitable for people in this industry,” he outlined.
Moreover, he noted that the Government has been analysing ways of boosting the technological makeup of the industry, recognising that many of the vessels are also aged.
“The tools that we give you to work with must also be modernised. The vessels that we put you on must be modernised. Both in the public sector and private sector. Lots of the vessels are aged. We have been looking at that but I believe with oil and gas, the provision of logistic services, the engagement with what is taking place in our EEZ, it provides opportunities for more people to be engaged and it would also provide an opportunity for new vessels to come in.”
It was pointed out that when this Administration entered office in 2020, the Maritime Administration Department was not equipped for the oil sector. This has now been fixed.
The Public Works Minister shared, “There was the need for repositioning the sector to address what were the evolving and current trends. That was 2020. We had found oil in 2015 and MARAD as a regulatory body did not have an oil and gas division five years later. We now have a dedicated division at MARAD that is dealing with oil and gas.”
As the oil industry grows, more seafarers will become necessary. They will also require training to adequately fill these new responsibilities.
As he stressed the importance of seafarers, Edghill said, “The world as it is right now cannot function without seafarers. Even if countries around the world did not recognise this, when COVID hit and we couldn’t get ships moving, everybody said this is a really important industry”.
The Government has invested heavily to improve safety in waterways. Engagement with international organisations such as the International Maritime Organisation is continuing aggressively.
“We want wherever our seafarers and wherever the Guyana flag is carried, that we make Guyana proud and we can be good ambassadors. Years ago, the strongest form of diplomacy was a ship landing in a foreign port…We are very proud of where Guyana is, where Guyana is going and we want when our seafarers land in foreign shores, that they fly the flag of Guyana with conduct, character, speech and everything else that we do, high,” the Minister charged.