See full statement below:
In March 2022, G-Boats Guyana through the Ministry of Education invited (11) eleven secondary schools to participate in a competition to name two tugboats which are currently being built to provide support to the oil & gas sector in Guyana. The rules of the competition were simple; each school was required to submit one unique Guyanese name per vessel with a short description of the origin of the name.
St. Ignatius Secondary School emerged as one of the winners with their submission of A’RINRA, which is the Macushi word for an electric eel. It is believed that this eel can withstand any storm or weather to get to its destination. This submission was done by Grade 11 student Raymond De Cambra and he was guided by his grandmother Ms. Leontina Jose, who is a former teacher of St. Ignatius Secondary School.
The second winning name was submitted by a Grade 11 Student Kaylan Duncan with support from Ms. Thompson from Brickdam Secondary School with an entry for MADAM KALINA. The name Kalina was derived from the Carib tribe and they are one of the (9) nine Amerindian tribes in Guyana. The Amerindians were the first to touch Guyana’s shores and lived along the rivers and coasts of Guyana. Naming the tugboat MADAM KALINA brings awareness to the tribe’s existence and contributions to the nation.
The winning schools each was rewarded with a donation of USD1000: for their winning submission. In addition, upon completion of the boats the winning schools would also be eligible to send student representatives to participate in the christening of the vessels upon arrival in Guyana later this year.
A simple handing over ceremony was held on June 28, 2022 at Brickdam Secondary School and on June 29, 2022 at St. Ignatius Secondary School where each school was presented with their winning prize and a framed photo of the tug boat with the name inscribed.
G-Boats Guyana is a Maritime Solutions provider operating in Guyana since 2016. In the feature address to the schools Mr. Daniel LaFont – Business Development Director shared that Edison Chouest – the parent company of G. Boats Guyana is a family owned company started with 2 shrimp boats and has since grown to employ more than 10,000 employees globally.
In the Guyana operations, they currently employ over 380 Guyanese which makes up 75% of the G-Boats staff. He also shared that they are partners with MatPal Marine Institute to provide trainings for employees. Currently, G. Boats Guyana has 18 vessels providing offshore support in Guyana.
