Dredging of the Demerara Main Ship Channel was scheduled to begin on October 14 and continue until December 31, according to an amended notice issued by the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD).
Notice to Mariners No. 176, dated October 13, identifies the TSHD Shoreway as the vessel undertaking the operation and directs other vessels to remain clear and navigate with extreme caution nearby. Communications can be made with the dredger or the Georgetown Lighthouse on VHF Channel 16.
The notice establishes the operational period but does not disclose the project’s cost, target depth, volume of material to be removed or arrangements for disposing of dredged material.
Previous dredging of the channel has prompted concerns about the effects on traditional fishing grounds, marine habitats and fishermen’s livelihoods, including questions raised by environmentalist Janette Bulkan in Stabroek News.
In July 2022, Bulkan questioned why an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) had not been required for dredging associated with the Vreed-en-Hoop shore base development. She warned that the area designated for dredging crossed traditional artisanal fishing grounds and questioned whether fishermen had been adequately informed about the disruption to their livelihoods. Stabroek News reported her concerns about possible effects on fish stocks and nursery areas.
In a subsequent letter that month, Bulkan questioned where the dredged material would be deposited, how the disposal would affect fishing grounds and who was financing the works. She argued that the scale of seabed disturbance required environmental assessment and public explanation, and stressed that fishermen had legal and customary rights predating those granted to oil and gas operators and service providers.
NRG Holdings, responding at the time, said extensive consultations had been held with fisherfolk and that an Environmental and Social Management Plan had been submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency. The company said the plan considered fishing livelihoods and drew on Fisheries Department information and landing-site data.
However, in August 2022, fishermen told Stabroek News that mud and refuse disturbed by the dredging were fouling their fish pens and reducing catches. The newspaper reported that at least 80 artisanal fishermen on the East and West Banks of Demerara were affected.
Bulkan raised further concerns in August 2023 following a notice announcing the deployment of the water-injection dredger Henri Pitot. She questioned where sediment loosened by high-pressure water injection would settle and whether traditional fishing grounds would be affected. She also asked whether an EIA process had provided fishermen an opportunity to raise objections and seek compensation. Those concerns related to the dredging method announced in 2023 and do not establish the method or impacts of the current operation.
The Demerara channel has previously undergone expansion to accommodate larger vessels and support increased shipping associated with the oil and gas industry.
Stabroek News reported in December 2022 that the Ministry of Public Works received survey charts following dredging undertaken as part of the Vreed-en-Hoop shore base development.
At that time, developer NRG Holdings said the channel had been widened from 70 metres to 100 metres, with a depth of nine metres at chart datum. The ministry also reported the removal of wrecks and an extension of the channel farther offshore
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