Sinanan: Two new ferries on schedule

An artist's rendering of the Buccoo Reef catamaran. Photo courtesy Office of the Prime Minister
An artist's rendering of the Buccoo Reef catamaran. Photo courtesy Office of the Prime Minister

KINNESHA GEORGE-HARRY

The two new fast ferries, APT James and Buccoo Reef, bought to service the interisland seabridge are on schedule "subject to current limitation of covid19 restrictions," according to Minister of Works and Transport Rohan Sinanan.

On Monday, the Office of the Prime Minister revealed that the Buccoo Reef, a 100-meter catamaran, which will service the inter-island route, is currently under construction in Australia.

In an interview with Newsday on Tuesday, Sinanan said the Buccoo Reef will be completed in 2021. He declined to give a definitive date.

He said: “It is on schedule; it is due sometime next year. I cannot provide the exact time at this point in time as we all know what is happening internationally, so we have to wait to hear from the shipbuilders, but I cannot tell you anything about a delivery date.”

The Buccoo Reef is being constructed by Australian shipbuilder Incat.

Concerning the APT James, the minister said it is still on schedule to be received this year.

A previous press release from the National Infrastructure Development Company Ltd (Nidco) said Australian company Austal was contracted to design and build a 94-metre high speed vehicle and passenger catamaran to be delivered in mid-2020. It said the ship, built in Austal’s new shipyard in Vung Tau, Vietnam, would provide high-speed operations on the seabridge.

According to Nidco, the vessel is designed to carry 926 passengers and 250 cars at speeds of 37.5 knots and will operate a daily service between the islands. The ship will also feature Austal’s new smart ship technology, MarineLink Smart.

The release said Nidco would finance the vessel through an export loan from Australia’s Export Finance and Insurance Corporation (EFIC).

Incat, based in Tasmania, is an Australian company which built the TT Express and the TT Spirit, purchased as used vessels to service the inter-island seabridge.

Sinanan said the new vessels will have a positive impatc on the seabridge.

“These are two new, custom-built vessels; they are modern vessels so what we expect is a more efficient seabridge because they’re new vessels, they’re larger vessels, they are far superior to what we had before. They are vessels that are even newer than that Jean de La Valette that we have currently operating on the seabridge now,” he said.

On September 9, the PNM's Facebook page posted pictures of the Buccoo Reef under construction.

The Office of the Prime Minister's Facebook page posted an artist's rendition of the vessel on Monday.

Comments

"Sinanan: Two new ferries on schedule"

More in this section