Dégrad des Cannes is the main

seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

for the French Overseas department of

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic coast of South America in the Guianas. ...

, situated in the northern edge of

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

and opening into

the Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

. The seaport is located on the

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...

of the Mahury River. Nearly all of French Guiana's

imports An import is the receiving country in an export from the sending country. Importation and exportation are the defining financial transactions of international trade. In international trade, the importation and exportation of goods are limited ...

and

exports An export in international trade is a good produced in one country that is sold into another country or a service provided in one country for a national or resident of another country. The seller of such goods or the service provider is an ...

pass through this

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

. Built in 1974, it replaced the old harbour of Cayenne which was congested and couldn't cope with modern traffic.

Naval base

It also serves as the main base for the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

in the Caribbean Sea and one of five French naval bases not located within Metropolitan France (excluding foreign bases). The naval base is located to the east of the main commercial port along Route des Plages. A small pier for naval vessels to dock connects to the main barracks. The base has a small helipad. The naval base is home to 160 personnel, some from the French Navy and the rest from the

Maritime Gendarmerie The Maritime Gendarmerie (french: Gendarmerie maritime) is a component of the French National Gendarmerie under operational control of the chief of staff of the French Navy. It employs 1,157 personnel and operates around thirty patrol boats and h ...

and headed by a Commandant. Currently there are two s, ''La Confiance'' and ''La Résolue'', stationed at the base. Both naval patrol vessels entered service in 2017. The vessels are used mainly for sovereignty patrols, assisting the Maritime Gendarmerie in fisheries patrol vessels and protecting the

Guiana Space Centre The Guiana Space Centre (french: links=no, Centre spatial guyanais; CSG), also called Europe's Spaceport, is a European spaceport to the northwest of Kourou in French Guiana, a region of France in South America. Kourou is located approximatel ...

further west along the coast. The Maritime Gendarmerie operates the patrol boats ''Charente'' and ''Organabo'' in the territory, ''Charente'' having been deployed to the territory in 2022 to replace the previous boat ''Mahury'' which was no longer deemed serviceable. One ''Engins de Débarquement Amphibie – Standards'' (EDA-S) landing craft is to be delivered to naval forces based in Guiana by 2025. The landing craft is to better support coastal and riverine operations in the territory.

Base Commandant

* Alban Mathieu 2014–? * Serge Permal-Toulcanon ?–2014

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Degrad Des Cannes Ports and harbours in South America Water transport in French Guiana Installations of the French Navy Remire-Montjoly