Buccoo Reef ferry due to arrive on Sunday

The Buccoo Reef ferry is on its way through the Panama Canal en route to Trinidad and Tobago.

Herbert George, chairman of the National Infrastructure Development Co Ltd, told Newsday on Thursday afternoon, “The vessel should be out of the Panama Canal Thursday night and would arrive in the country Sunday morning.”

He told Newsday everything is in place to receive the vessel.

There will be no issues with docking or with the ramps, George said, as the new vessels have been custom-built with specifications to fit the Port of Spain and Scarborough ports.

“So we can use the existing ramps that we have.”

The Buccoo Reef will join the TT Spirit, the Galleons Passage, the Jean de La Valette, the newly commissioned APT James and the Cabo Star cargo boat.

The 112m-long vessel can hold 1,000 passengers, including 224 VIP seats and 239 vehicles and can travel at up to 45.3 knots.

It was built by shipbuilding company Incat, in Tasmania, Australia for US$72.9 million.

The crew bringing the ship to TT will undergo the 14 mandatory quarantine days on arrival.