Galleons at Staubles for inspection

The Galleons Passage is in Staubles Bay for an underwater inspection that could not have been conducted at the Port of Port of Spain because of murky water.

Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan yesterday said it was a routine exercise where divers inspected the boat. However, because of the recent rain and the sediment from the Caroni River flowing to the sea, the water in the area the boat was docked was too cloudy for the divers to see. Therefore it was moved to Staubles Bay.

In an email yesterday, former food production minister Devant Maharaj claimed the Galleons Passage was being sent to Staubles Bay to begin repairs. He said a source from the Port Authority said the boat had oil leaks and was “in terrible condition... and will not be in operation anytime soon.”

Sinanan was incredulous when Sunday Newsday told him about the email Maharaj circulated to the media. “The population, like myself, should be totally fed up of Devant Maharaj and his fake news. Somebody tell him stop with the nonsense nah,” Sinanan said. National Infrastructure Development Company deputy chairman Stephen Gardiner, in a comment to Sunday Newsday, added that the only “repairs” the boat needed was the retrofitting that had already begun.