PM: Rodney Charles 'mischievous' to ask about Coast Guard fleet

THE PRIME MINISTER on Tuesday accused Opposition MP Rodney Charles of being mischievous in his questioning about the seaworthiness of Coast Guard vessels.

During urgent questions for the Prime Minister in Parliament on Tuesday, Charles asked whether one of the Coast Guard’s 11 large vessels was operational.

Dr Rowley said he knew nothing of what Charles was referring to and refused to answer, claiming the premise of the question did not exist.

“As head of the National Security Council I have said over and over again to this particular member, I am not prepared to come in public and outline any vulnerabilities of the security of the state."

He added: "It might suit them to talk about a porous border. I will not participate in undermining the State. So every time he asks a question like this and asks me to detail our security and vulnerabilities if it exists, the answer is, 'It's a matter of national security and I will not answer you.' I will not assist you in telling the public about any vulnerabilities.”

Rowley said Charles intended him, through the question, to confirm all the vessels are down, which he said was not true and he was not going to do it. He added that “a lot of money” was spent to ensure two vessels, CG 41 and CG 42, were operational.

The two Cape Class vessels were bought from Australia in 2018 and arrived in TT in 2021. They cost US$38.6 million each.

Last month, an ex-Coast Guard lieutenant commander sued the State after his former commanding officer and Chief of Defence Staff Air Vice Marshal Darryl Daniel sought to charge him internally for allegedly damaging CG 41 in February 2022.

According to the lawsuit, the then captain is accused of causing $1,887,815.54 worth of damage after the boat came into contact with an unidentified submerged object, resulting in damage to the propulsion system, gearbox and shaft, through negligence.

The retired officer, who claimed to have been made to resign last year, is challenging the intent to court-martial him, claiming there was a known defect in the radar system when it was received in 2021. If found guilty, he can be held personally liable and made to pay for some of the repairs, as mandated in the Defence Act.

Oropouche East MP Dr Roodal Moonilal, in a follow-up question, asked if the vessels were functional and said if they were not, then they ought to be fixed.

At a meeting of the Joint Select Committee (JSC) on National Security in March, of which Moonilal is a member, the Chief of Defence Staff said the Coast Guard was operating at 50 per cent capacity, as seven of its vessels needed maintenance and were dry-docked.

He explained that at the beginning of the pandemic, the maintenance crew returned to the Netherlands and the defence force was renegotiating the maintenance contract.

Daniel said then that some work could be done internally, but his members are awaiting the necessary parts to do those repairs.

He added that four of the six Damen vessels bought by the People’s Partnership need upkeep, along with two utility craft and one fast patrol vessel.

In Parliament on Tuesday, in response to Moonilal, Rowley said there seemed to be an underlying thread among the Opposition of wanting to tell the world about the country’s borders, and that information is “very useful to criminals who would like to penetrate TT borders.

“I don’t know on whose behalf they are acting when they come here and make statements like: 'All our major vessels are down.'”

Asked by Charles if one of the two vessels bought from Australia in 2021 was dry-docked in the Dominican Republic, Rowley said it needed repairing and was dry-docked, repaired and returned to service.

“The member is mischievous. As a matter of fact, when the vessel was down, he came here and sought an announcement from me,” Rowley said, before Moonilal interrupted him by rising to have his "mischievous" comment withdrawn, an appeal overruled by Speaker Brigid Annisette-George.