Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan is admitting to being “disappointed” that four months after the new board of the Port Authority of T&T has assumed office, a solution is yet to be found to the sea bridge crisis.
In a telephone interview with the T&T Guardian yesterday, Sinanan said, “As line Minister, I really would have hoped by now that we would have had two vessels, I am disappointed that we don’t have the vessels.”
Sinanan also said he had no information about problems being experienced with the cargo vessel the Cabo Star.
After months of searching, the board announced in late June that it had leased the passenger ferry the Ocean Flower 2 and the Cabo Star to replace the Super Fast Galicia on the sea bridge between Trinidad and Tobago.
The Ocean Flower 2 never made it to Trinidad and the contract has since been cancelled, but the Cabo Star has been transporting cargo across the two islands.
However, Inter-Island Trailers and Truckers Association president Horace Amede told the T&T Guardian that the Cabo Star is fraught with problems. He said it “is overrun with vermin, the air-conditioning is not working and some of the toilets are not working.” The docking ramp on the vessel is also said to be “inadequate” and has created problems for the truckers. In addition, the vessel is also yet to be certified to carry the number of truckers who need to use it.
Well-placed sources told the T&T Guardian the vessel was configured for cargo and is not licensed to transport the over 100 truckers who need to use the vessel. Reconfiguration of the vessel, the T&T Guardian was told, would “cost a tidy sum.”
Sinanan said no information on the problems raised by the truckers with regard to the Cabo Star had come to him directly, but he had heard of them in the media.
Both the Cabo Star and the Ocean Flower 2 were leased from Bridgemans Services Limited, a Canadian company. Both are now the subject of investigation by the Integrity Commission and the sole investigator appointed by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, businessman Christian Moutett. The Port Authority is also conducting its own investigation.
In a statement on Tuesday night, the Port said having received information that the procurement process “may have been compromised,” an investigation into the procurement process had been commissioned, and measures had been put in place in order to ensure that the investigation is satisfactorily executed.
Last week, Sinanan announced the decision to cancel the Ocean Flower 2 contract after it failed to meet several target dates for its arrival to this country, which was July 17. A damning report from the PATT chief engineer Brendon Powder had also given the vessel a failing grade and recommended it stay on in Panama to address critical mechanical issues he detected during an inspection there.
Yesterday, Sinanan said the Port Authority will be going out to tender for another passenger vessel, but he could not say when this would be done or the length of time the process will take, adding, “We have to go through the proper process even if it means taking a long time. We will not want to hear allegations as is happening now.”
Of the unfolding events, he said: “In politics I expect anything.”
Efforts to contact both Port CEO Charmaine Lewis and chairman Allison Lewis were unsuccessful yesterday as they did not answer calls.