Sinanan: Buccoo Reef vessel still under warranty with Australian builder

Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan has said while the National Infrastructure Development Company (Nidco) has taken possession of the Buccoo Reef ferry, it is still under contractual guarantee with the manufacturer.

He made the statement in Parliament on Wednesday in response to a question from Opposition MP Rudranath Indarsingh, who queried why the vessel returned to the manufacturer in Australia – 398 miles into its maiden voyage.

Reading from a release from Nidco, Sinanan said alarms had gone off in the vessel while it was on its way to its first point of call, Tahiti. He said Nidco decided the boat should return to the builders INCAT Tasmania Pty Ltd, which along with the original engineering equipment manufacturers, are troubleshooting and resolving the associated issues. The release said Nidco requested a test of major systems before the ferry resumes its voyage to TT.

Sinanan said Nidco had a contract where it had a guarantee from the manufacturer.

“In seeking the public’s interest, Nidco decided to ensure that the warranties period is taken full advantage of, and the manufacturers are doing exactly what the contract requires. The manufacturers are responsible for anything that may arise on the vessel during that contractual period, so the responsibility is now to the manufacturer to ensure that the alarms raised are rectified.”