[UPDATED] Tobago Chamber wants urgent meeting with Works Minister over seabridge

THE TOBAGO Chamber of Industry and Commerce is calling for an urgent meeting with Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan to thrash out issues relating to the seabridge.

On August 23, the cargo ferry the MV Cabo Star went out of commission after a fire broke out on board shortly after it left Tobago.

It was replaced by a Venezuelan vessel, the Emprendedora, which arrived at the Port of Port of Spain on Saturday to service the inter-island route.

The Emprendedora made its maiden trip to Tobago about 3pm on Tuesday and left the island around 6.40 am on Wednesday.

During a news conference at the chamber’s headquarters, Ansa McAl Building, Scarborough, its president Curtis Williams said the issues surrounding the Cabo Star required a contingency plan to address the fallout.

“We want to ask...the Minister of Works and his technical team, including the Nidco board, for an urgent meeting so that they can meet with us – the Tobago Chamber of Commerce Division and other stakeholders – we ask...them to accept our request for an urgent meeting to discuss the seabridge issues going forward, the future and what plans we could put in place, knowing that there ought to be some new vessel that they hope to acquire sometime next year.

"So we want to be part of that discussion as we move forward,” he told reporters.

Williams said the chamber intends to write a letter to Sinanan, which he hopes to deliver personally on Friday in Port of Spain. The chamber hopes Sinanan will respond by Wednesday

Former chamber president Demi John Cruickshank, who also attended the news conference, said there was a need for serious discussions with the minister on the way forward.

He said if the Cabo Star were to go out of commission in the run-up to the October carnival, the island would be in chaos.

“Today (Wednesday) is three weeks that vessel has not sailed.

"You could imagine this happening around Tobago carnival? What will happen to Tobago, the economy and the people who put their trust and already booked their rooms and hotels to get to Tobago?”

In the meantime, Cruickshank and Williams are hoping the Port Authority of TT keeps its promise to have the Cabo Star back in operation by Monday.

“We are eagerly awaiting such a return of that vessel. We are going to hold them to this. So come next week, we will definitely be holding the Port Authority accountable going forward,” Williams said.

Cruickshank added, “I am making it categorically clear we are holding the Port Authority to their word that that vessel, the Cabo Star, returns to service on Monday the 18th for the latest. They indicated to us that the repairs are under way. I hope there are no delays in terms of getting that vessel back into the water and into service.”

On the Emprendedora, which docked at the Scarborough port around 1 am on Wednesday, he said, “We cannot be leaving our beds 2 o’clock, 1 o clock in the morning until 5 o’clock in the morning, coming back and trying to open business.

“We did this in 2017, and it is not something we are willing to continue in the future. So we are going to hold the port to their word that the vessel is going to be finished by the 17th, which was indicated by the chairman, Lyle Alexander.”

Cruickshank said several activities are expected to take place in Tobago in the coming weeks.

“If these activities clash with shortage of goods and foodstuff on the island, we will have problems, because we don’t want our guests coming to Tobago and having problems to get simple things like water.”

Saying there is still a backlog of cargo at the Port of Spain port, Cruickshank said suppliers, wholesalers, manufacturers and distributors want predictability on the seabridge.

He said some manufacturers sent their trucks but they could not get on the boat and were turned away a couple of times.

"They are frustrated in Trinidad that their trucks just going to the port and can’t get on and they have to go back to their warehouses." So it was crucial for the Cabo Star to be back in service by September 18 and some normality returned.

“This is not supposed to be the norm.”

This story has been adjusted to include additional details. See original post below.

THE TOBAGO Chamber of Industry and Commerce is calling for an urgent meeting with Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan to thrash out issues relating to the seabridge.

On August 23, the cargo ferry the MV Cabo Star went out of commission after a fire broke out on board shortly after it left Tobago.

It was replaced by a Venezuelan vessel, the Emprendedora, which arrived at the Port of Port of Spain on Saturday to service the inter-island route.

The Emprendedora made its maiden trip to Tobago about 3pm on Tuesday and left the island around 6.40 am on Wednesday.

During a news conference at the chamber’s headquarters, Ansa McAl Building, Scarborough, its president Curtis Williams said the issues surrounding the Cabo Star required a contingency plan to address the fallout.

“We want to ask...the Minister of Works and his technical team, including the Nidco board, for an urgent meeting so that they can meet with us – the Tobago Chamber of Commerce Division and other stakeholders – we ask...them to accept our request for an urgent meeting to discuss the seabridge issues going forward, the future and what plans we could put in place, knowing that there ought to be some new vessel that they hope to acquire sometime next year.

"So we want to be part of that discussion as we move forward,” he told reporters.

Williams said the chamber intends to write a letter to Sinanan, which he hopes to deliver personally on Friday in Port of Spain. The chamber hopes Sinanan will respond by Wednesday.