Shipping | Guyana president urges Caribbean to weigh cost of shipping’s energy transition

Guyana’s President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali has called on Caribbean maritime leaders to assess the cost, fuel choices and regional consequences of decarbonisation, before supporting global policies that could shape the future of shipping.

Addressing the opening ceremony of the Caribbean Shipping Association’s (CSA’s) 56th Annual General Meeting, Conference and Exhibition in Georgetown on Monday, Ali said the region must understand its position in global analyses and consider what proposed changes would mean for its shipping businesses.

“I’m not saying it’s not necessary. I’m saying we must know what wind we’re walking against or with,” he said.

Ali cited United Nations Conference on Trade and Development estimates that decarbonising vessels would require between US$8 billion and US$28 billion annually through 2050. He also said complete decarbonisation could initially raise annual marine fuel expenditure by 70 to 100 per cent.

The costs, he argued, would have to be absorbed somewhere in the logistics system. They should therefore be part of an honest assessment of the transition, rather than be treated as a reason to abandon it.

“This is not to say we don’t go on a decarbonising drive,” Ali said. “But that is to say we must have a full understanding as to what this means for our sector in this region.”

options under consideration

He pointed to uncertainty over which fuels will power shipping as another factor requiring scrutiny. Biofuel, green methanol, green ammonia, hydrogen, battery electricity and liquefied natural gas are among the options under consideration, but questions remain about their production, price and availability.

That uncertainty complicates investment decisions for shipowners considering costly changes to their vessels. Ali said operators would be reluctant to spend billions on retooling without knowing where fuel supplies would come from, how much they would cost or how long they would remain available.

He warned that regional leaders could support policies that sound positive but work against Caribbean interests if the implications are not fully examined. He called for forums such as the CSA conference to bring together industry expertise for independent analysis that considers both environmental goals and the commercial realities facing the sector.

challenges

Ali outlined five challenges confronting the region: high shipping and connectivity costs, uneven port infrastructure, weak inter-Caribbean trade, climate-related disasters and geopolitical instability. He said gaps in port infrastructure extend to security, technology, modernisation and safety.

Dr Komal Singh, chairman of the Shipping Association of Guyana, placed those concerns within Guyana’s rapid economic transformation. The country’s expanding energy, agriculture, manufacturing, construction and logistics sectors are increasing demand for efficient ports, navigational channels and reliable shipping services, he said.

But, Singh cautioned, “growth alone does not guarantee competitiveness”. He called for investment in port infrastructure, more efficient operations, stronger regional connections and closer public-private collaboration. Guyana’s growing productive capacity, he said, could support trade with the wider Caribbean, provided shipping connections become more reliable and affordable.

The two addresses brought the region’s policy questions into focus: how to adapt to global changes while building maritime systems that reflect Caribbean needs. The conference programme takes up those issues through sessions on intra-Caribbean trade, smart ports, net-zero pathways, resilient supply chains and the maritime workforce.

At the AGM, members re-elected William Brown as CSA president and Maria del Mar Rodriguez as vice-president for 2026–2027. The leadership vote provides continuity as the association works on issues Ali urged delegates to examine closely: the cost of transition, the choices available to the region, and the need for Caribbean voices to help shape the policies that will affect its future.