Galleons may arrive in May

THE Galleons Passage vessel, which Government is hoping could revive the comatose seabridge, may be delayed by an extra month as information posted by Sea Transport in China yesterday, revealed the vessel will arrive in TT sometime in May. Newsday tracked the boat yesterday at about midday and at that time, it was docked at 6 pm (TT time) at the port of Honolulu in Hawaii.

Newsday tried unsuccessfully to reach Finance Minister Colm Imbert yesterday for an update. He had said on March 12, that the US$17.38 million vessel was due to arrive in Port of Spain by the end of April.

Yesterday, Global Ship Tracking App, revealed the Galleons Passage was berthed 40 kilometers south of Honolulu since Saturday. The boat’s captain attempted to approach the port, but no berth was available and the Galleons Passage had to sail back out into the ocean where it remained circling the Pacific at two knots up until yesterday at midday (Hawaii time).

According to a posting in ‘Today in Hawaii. Live Vessel Information, Port Call’ yesterday, the Galleons Passage was cleared to berth at No Six Berth yesterday in Honolulu. It will remain until Thursday before it embarks on the journey to Panama. Imbert had said that the boat has three stops to make before its arrival in Trinidad. At the speed at which it will sail, the tentative date for arrival in Panama is April 17.

The boat is to be refuelled, cleaned and the crew on board disembark for another few days. By April 23, the Galleons Passage will set sail to Cuba where it will be outfitted with seats and undergo certain structural changes which is estimated to take approximately ten days or until May 3. It will then make its final journey to Port of Spain.

China’s ‘Sea Transport’ online bulletin posted is headlined, “T&T government purchases Catamaran” and it stated that the Galleons Passage is a 74-metre catamaran with an aluminium superstructure comprising a steel hull, a capacity of 700 people and up to 100 vehicles.

Its maximum speed is 22 knots and due to its 2.75 metre draft, it can berth anywhere at the Port of Spain harbour including the ferry terminal, without dredging.