The Galleons Passage has finally set off on its journey from the Far East, after a 17-day delay, and is now docked in a port in Hong Kong after arriving there at around 4.30 pm (local time) yesterday.
From there it will begin the 11,000 nautical mile journey, expected to take two months, to the Caribbean.
The seabridge has been dogged with problems for almost a year due to frequent breakdowns of the T&T Express, rough seas and insurance issues.
A second ferry, the T&T Spirit, is expected to be back in service by the time the Galleons Passage arrive.
At one point, just before Carnival, ferry passengers had to be accommodated for more than a week on Caribbean Airlines flights, at no additional cost, to get to Tobago.
The new passenger ferry was expected to leave on February 9, but preparations and celebrations of the Chinese New Year stalled the processing of the necessary paperwork for the granting of special permits.
The vessel had been built for a customer in Venezuela who cancelled the purchase due to social and economic circumstances in that country.
The vessel left the Nansha Port, according to Finance Minister Colm Imbert at 10.45 am Guangdong time (which was about 10.45 pm on Monday) for Hong Kong, from where it will begin the journey to T&T.
The Galleons Passage was purchased by the Government at a cost of US$17.4 million and according to international tracking sites, it sailed at a speed of 9.5 knots, on the estimated 100 nautical mile journey to Hong Kong. An additional US$800,000 will be spent to pay for the journey to T&T.
NIDCO last week said the vessel will overnight in Hong Kong to gather fuel and other supplies before sailing on to the second leg of the journey to Honolulu, Hawaii, in the Pacific Ocean.
Imbert said the vessel is capable of higher speeds than 22 knots which will allow a sprint to places of refuge in the event of a storm along the journey.
From Honolulu, the vessel will sail through the Panama Canal, before heading north to the Damex shipyard in Santiago, Cuba, for enhancements.
He said when the vessel arrives at the Damex shipyard it will “do some enhancements including additional canopies, and additional toilets for passengers on the upper sun deck and canopies for the vehicle deck.”
In addition, he said, one hundred of the seven hundred seats will be “upgraded.”
NIDCO said the vessel will remain 10 days in Santiago, Cuba for the alterations to be done which include a full canopy over sundeck; installation of canopies over-exposed sections of vehicle deck; and installation of washroom facilities at the sun-deck level, in accordance with details as agreed to with the buyer.”
There has been no indication from either NIDCO or Imbert as to the cost of the alterations.
The vessel is expected to arrive in T&T waters on April 28, according to NIDCO, “all good-weather permitting.”
Responding to critics that the vessel may not be suitable for the waters between Trinidad and Tobago, Imbert said the structure was assessed in accordance with the Lloyd’s Register Rules & Regulations for Special Service Craft with an operating wave height limitation of four metres or 13 feet in open waters and a maximum wave height of 6.6 metres or 22 feet, and near gale force winds.
He said with its bulbous bow it can easily make the journey between Port-of-Spain and Scarborough in comfort.
OPPOSITION LEADER: BIGGEST SCANDAL IN T&T
Speaking about the vessel at a political meeting in San Juan on Monday night, Opposition leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar described the purchase of the boat as “the biggest scandal to rock Trinidad and Tobago this year.”
She described as “mind-boggling,” the purchase of a vessel without a “roof or toilets, so you buy a boat to transport people from Trinidad to Tobago lasting several hours, four or more hours we don’t know and you don’t have toilets, no roof and you bought this boat. Four ministers of government, these people can’t be serious.”
She said the seats on the vessel were like those in “long time cinemas in pit.”
Persad-Bissessar likened the purchase of the boat to a homeowner purchasing a house “with no roof or toilets. I mean which madman or mad woman will buy a boat for TT$130 million and it has no roof or toilets.” (See Pages A12 & A13)