TT Spirit expected back on Saturday

THA Secretary of Tourism, Culture and Transportation, Councillor Nadine Stewart-Phillips has asked for patience, following the pulling of the TT Spirit from service on Monday afternoon due to mechanical issues.

Responding to questions during Wednesday’s post Executive Council media briefing held at the Division’s conference room in Scarborough, Stewart-Phillips stressed the TT Spirit is is not new and would encounter issues periodically.

“We know that a number of persons have spoken about it... These vessels, the TT Spirit, is an aged vessel and we can expect that sometimes it may not function to its fullest capacity. However, as the Prime Minister (Dr Keith Rowley) mentioned, the Minister of Transportation (Rohan Sinanan) reiterated... they are currently in the process of getting new vessels to operate between Scarborough and the port in Trinidad, so we thank persons again for their patience.

“These vessels are man-made vessels and so there would always be technical problems and so we are just hopeful for the best. We have the Galleon’s Passage that is here, it is operating and so we are asking persons just to be very patient,” the Secretary said.

Contacted for an update, Chairman of the Port Authority, Lyle Alexander said he is hoping the vessel will return to the sea bridge on Saturday. Alexander admitted the issues plaguing the TT Spirit stem from the failure in the past to conduct frequent maintenance checks.

“The repairs on a Wednesday don’t necessarily address those issues... those are the things that should happen (frequently), and we are now paying for having not done those kinds of checks before. The (necessary) parts have been identified, they are located in Germany, we are awaiting their arrival. We expect them on Thursday (yesterday), we repair on Friday (today) and we should be back online by Saturday,” he said.

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