UNC wants police investigation into purchase of new ferries

The United National Congress is calling for a thorough criminal forensic investigation into the purchase of the APT James and Buccoo Reef fast ferries and two Cape-class patrol boats for the Coast Guard.

The vessels were built by Australian shipping companies Incat and Austal.

Austal delivered the APT James to TT on January 8 and launched the first of the two patrol boats in December last year.

Incat began construction on the Buccoo Reef in 2019 and the vessel left for TT last week. It  experienced a delay after alarms were triggered some 398 nautical miles from Hobart, Australia, where it departed. It returned to Hobart, the closest port of call, for further investigation.

At a news conference on Sunday at the Office of the Opposition Leader, Charles Street, Port of Spain, Opposition Senator Wade Mark called on the Prime Minister to make clear all the contract details between the government and the shipping companies.

Pointing to copies of the agreement for the Buccoo Reef and APT James, Mark said, "The combined costs of those two vessels is $1.079 billion. You know who took the decision? (Dr Keith) Rowley, (Minister of National Security) Stuart Young and his Cabinet.

"So far, we have spent US$617 million for these two fast ferries. So if it's a billion, we are supposed to have a balance of $400 million. We want the government to come clean. And in the case of the so-called Cape-class vessels, we have seen where the government has paid out a sizable amount of money."

Rowley announced on January 11, 2019 in Parliament that the APT James, built by Austal in Vietnam, will be purchased for US$73,550,000 and the Buccoo Reef, built by Incat, at US$72,977,000.

But Mark claimed TT has spent close to US$617 million for the two vessels combined.

Rowley also said in his contribution to Parliament that "there are further sums which will become due under the contractual arrangements going forward until the completion of the vessels."

After the APT James made its maiden voyage to Tobago on January 21, Rowley said the vessel cost $500 million.

Mark also claimed the government had overspent for the purchase of the two patrol boats, also built by Austal, and the public remains in the dark as to how much was borrowed from Export Finance and Insurance Corporation (EFIC) in Australia to buy the vessels.

Mark also claimed that $655 million was spent on two cape-class that cost half the price. He said the Australian Royal Navy bought a similar patrol vessel for $150 million.

"We need a criminal forensic investigation into the purchase of the two fast catamaran vessels that cost this country $1 billion and above. This is the scandal of the century, the purchase of these two so-called fast catamaran ferries and the two Cape-class vessels. Corruption is involved in the purchase of these assets."

Contacted for comment, Young said, “If you go back and check the Hansard you will see that Wade Mark had a whole motion in the Senate some time ago on this fallacy of some untowardness with respect to the Cape-class vessels.

“The two Cape-class vessels are financed by the Australian EFIC and are based on a government-to-government arrangement. This automatically means that there is independent oversight and accountability on cost, and the payments to Austal are made by EFIC, who would not make any payments if they were not satisfied with the legitimacy.”

Young said he suspects Mark is “mixing up the procurement of the Cape-class vessels with the UNC’s procurement of the Damen vessels, which is the subject of an international criminal investigation.”