A ferry in the nick of time

THE EDITOR: I am incredibly relieved to read recent reports that the Government was able to acquire a new ferry to service the sea bridge.

The sea bridge woes worsened when the T&T Spirit, one of the passenger boats, was put in dry dock for repairs. This has resulted in the Express being the only passenger boat working between the islands.

To make matters worse it has been malfunctioning and causing travelling delays. This new ferry should bring much needed relief to the Express and passengers.

Energy Minister Franklin Khan has described the purchase as a bargain and, on the face of it, it does seem like an incredible opportunity.

The vessel was being constructed for another client who, due to financial issues, was unable to complete the purchase. We can consider ourselves a little lucky then as the Government was able to purchase a brand new vessel at a significantly reduced cost of US$17 million.

To highlight how significant this savings is for the people of TT, the original lease cost of the Ocean Flower (a vessel previously being considered to service the bridge) was US$26,500 a day. This works out to $9.6 million a year.

Therefore, leasing the Ocean Flower for two years would have been more expensive than the purchase price of this brand new vessel. In addition, the T&T Express was purchased in 2006 for US$20 million; at the time it was nine years old.

Some critics claim that the Government should have consulted with all stakeholders before making the purchase. I am of the view that when all things are considered, in particular the urgency in which the vessel was needed and the huge savings to the national purse in a time of cost cutting and belt tightening, most would see this as smart shopping on the part of the Government.

OSEI BENN, Carenage