Duke: Don't risk life on T&T Spirit

TWO inter-island ferries "conked out" yesterday, Tobago House of Assembly (THA) minority leader Watson Duke alleged.

But Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan said mechanical issues are not unusual and the vessels were soon up and running again.

At a briefing at his Public Services Association (PSA) office in Port of Spain, Duke said he had got word from passengers that the Galleons Passage and TNT Spirit were not working.

“I want to declare to all TT that the TNT Spirit is unfit. They know it is unfit!”

He accused the authorities of “using money as a whip” to browbeat people to keep the TNT Spirit in service.

“But I’m saying to the Tobago people and those from Trinidad, do not risk your life on the TNT Spirit. Do not risk your life!

“The TNT Spirit is working on only two out of four engines. It is a crisis waiting to happen.”

Duke claimed the recently-acquired Galleons Passage has three new engines and one repaired engine, the latter of which stopped working yesterday. “They must now pay big money to get someone from China to fly down and fix that Galleons Passage.”

He said Australia had refused to fix it, as it is a Chinese design.

“The Galleons Passage is a boat that is waiting to take lives when it goes down in the Galleons Passage (between Trinidad and Tobago),” Duke claimed. “I want to warn all people using those boats: those boats are unsafe and no one should travel on those boats.

"The Galleons Passage – that river boat, that old boat, that had all of its engines destroyed in 2016 – in 2018 is only operating on three of the four engines.”

Sinanan told Newsday at midday both vessels were now working again. “Like anything else there will be mechanical failures, so we have a maintenance strategy in place and spare parts,” he said. “These things are expected from time to time.” This can happen with new or old vessels/vehicles, whether boats, cars and aircraft, he explained.

On Duke’s claim the vessels are unfit and the Galleons Passage has lost its 700-passenger certification, Sinanan retorted, “We are guided by our Maritime Services Division and so far we have no problem with the certification of these vessels.”