- refers to Arbitral Award

Georgetown, GINA, October 14, 2008

The Government of Guyana, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs today issued a strong statement confirming that the Guyanese-registered vessel MV Lady Chandra 1 was seized by the Surinamese military at approximately 13:30 hours today in the Corentyne River which borders Guyana and Suriname.
  The statement referring to the seizure and relating that the vessel was reportedly boarded by Surinamese and escorted by three military vessels to Suriname’s port Nickerie, described the move by Suriname as that country’s latest provocation in a series that has seen recurrent interventions by Surinamese against Guyanese using the river.
  “Previously, Guyana had formally dispatched a diplomatic note protesting to the Government of Suriname against such actions, all to no avail and without any response,” the statement said.
  “In its September 17 arbitral award, the ITLOS (International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea) Tribunal that had ruled on the maritime dispute between Guyana and Suriname found that the resort to the use of force by Suriname offended international norms and practices,” the Government release added.
  The Foreign Affairs Ministry said in its statement that ‘Guyana, in responding to this latest action, is closely monitoring this development and intends to take all necessary steps to safeguard its national interests’.
  It said that this most recent act of provocation by Suriname is being drawn to the attention of the Secretaries General of both the United Nations and CARICOM (the Caribbean Community).
  On September 17, 2007, the arbitral tribunal in pursuant of Article 287 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea rendered its award concerning the delimitation of Guyana’s maritime boundary with Suriname. The boundary is situated in the Corentyne River.
  The award was the resolution of years of tension between the two countries and allowed them to put the controversy behind them.
In an address to the nation on September 20, President, Bharrat Jagdeo noted that the award was very favourable to Guyana and that all of Guyana’s principal objectives were achieved. He stated that Guyana now had a definitive and permanent maritime boundary with Suriname and regarded the award as being fair and equitable to both States.