Members of the Inter-island Ferry Committee of the Tobago Chamber of Commerce say they are disappointed with the treatment meted out to them by the Port Authority of Trinidad and Tobago and the Trinidad and Tobago Inter-Island Transport Company Ltd, after they were informed that sailings for the lone cargo vessel, the Superfast Galicia, will be cancelled for four days next week.
Speaking at a news conference in Tobago yesterday, chairman of the Inter-island Ferry Committee, Dianne Hadad, said they were told the ferry would not sail from October 9-12 to accommodate the 12th Conference of Defence Ministers of the Americas which is being held at the Hyatt Regency, Port-of-Spain, during the period.
She said members stand to lose millions and the occurrence was a backward move.
“Four days is a lot of days to miss cargo coming into the island. As well as it’s going to have other issues,” Hadad said.
“We are already without the Warrior Spirit, which was sent back at the end of August, so we are back to one cargo vessel, there’s no makeup vessel in this. We are already having problems with the containerised goods,because the facility does not accommodate the containerised goods very well, so I am not sure we have moved forward and this is really a backward move.”
Chairman of the Tobago Chamber of Commerce, Demi John Cruikshank, said the lack of communication to them was also was unacceptable, noting businesses had no time to try to stockpile goods to cater to the missed days. He also called on the authorities to utilise other ports during the period.
“The Port Authority erred in this matter, not inviting us to a meeting and even discussing it. There are alternative ports in Trinidad, Point Lisas, anywhere else, you can dock the vessel there and we will take our trucks there and load the boat. But without any consultation, arbitrarily you send a press release and say that you are taking the boat off the route for four days, that is not good enough,” Cruickshank said.
In response to the claims, Inter-island Transport Company Ltd PRO Velma Lewis Cockburn denied there was little or no consultation with the group. She said acting Chief Executive Officer of the Port Authority, Leon Grant, has been communicating with members of the Tobago Chamber. She said the port provided an alternative of October 8 and October 15 for the sailing of the Superfast Galicia, which she expects will accommodate lighter goods and vehicles.
Port officials are scheduled to meet with members of the chamber today.