Chairman of the Shipping Association of Guyana, Andrew Astwood, has said that the shipping industry has been faced with many challenges over the years.As an industry, Astwood said, he does believe that they are ready for some of the challenges they are being faced with.A container laden vessel in port GeorgetownAccording to him, what is happening worldwide is that a lot of shipping lines are putting in bigger vessels, and to serve this part of the hemisphere they have to use what is called feeder vessels (smaller vessels) because of the draft restrictions in ports such as Guyana and Suriname.“That is one of the major challenges that we have been facing in Guyana as a shipping industry for the longest while, in that draft restrictions hamper large vessels from getting in and out of the harbour easily,NFL Jerseys China, and it can be very costly for companies doing business here and lines coming to Guyana,Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping,” Astwood commented.He pointed out that as a result of this freight cost is affected. “So the cost of getting goods to and from Guyana can be affected by lines having to pay more for freight. I think we are going to see that continuing.”The shipping association, Astwood added, has been working very closely with Maritime Administration Department (MARAD), as well as the National Competitiveness Strategy Unit (NCSU).He said that NCSU had approached the association about 18 months ago and began discussing what the members considered were some incapacities in the shipping sector.According to Astwood,Cheap Jerseys China, NCSU was alleging that the shipping sector did not have the capacity to export cargo in an effective manner out of Guyana,Nike NFL Jerseys China, and several exporters were being affected by a number of things, such as shortage of containers, ships leaving back cargo, and basically access to specialised equipment.“There was this perceived shortage of equipment and perceived incapacity, so we have been working with the NCSU to try and look at the various sectors within the industry that were affected.”He added that the Association has been working with the forestry sector, the agriculture sector to some extent, and some of the other sub-sectors that would be involved in exporting cargo from Guyana.“So the association has been, with its affiliates, trying to do its utmost to try and solve of the problems….I must say that we are not alone in the whole issue of solving these problems. The issue of dredging is a national problem, and we have to work with the stakeholders involved to try and see if we can resolve it. It’s something major in terms of vessels getting in and out of Guyana.”He also said that the Association has been working with other stakeholders to deal with the issue of piracy and armed robbery in the Demerara Harbour.“As an association this is something that we have been looking at for a number of years. We have been working with Coast Guard trying to see if we can schedule more frequent patrols in the Demerara River to ensure security of vessels when they are coming in and going out of the port.”He noted that they have succeeded in at least getting the Coast Guard to do their patrols at specified times that would be convenient as it relates to the arrival and departure of vessels.Astwood said that it is anticipated that the completion of the Takatu and Berbice Bridges will have an impact on trade in Guyana and Guyana’s connections with other parts of the world.“It is anticipated that use of the Guyana/Brazil corridor will see a lot of containers being transshipped in Guyana destined for Europe and other parts of the world.“I think the various companies need to be prepare themselves.”On the issue of the global financial meltdown in the US, Astwood opined that the effects have not been seen in great detail as yet in the shipping industry, but it is anticipated that it is going to have an effect on the industry possibly in the near future.“Even before the global recession began to bite in we saw EWL, a major shipping line, going bankrupt, and that was very serious for us, as the country and other countries serviced by that line would have been affected tremendously.”He also opined that the crisis may cause contracts for bringing things to Guyana to be deferred,Wholesale NFL Jerseys China, and that could result in less containers being imported,Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale, and also exports being affected to some extent.