Alerts upgraded as hurricane causes flight, sailing cancellations

The Ministry of Trade and Industry has said border agencies have been mobilised to ensure the safe passage of marine vessels, including yachts and pleasure craft, into TT, which is considered a safe haven for all marine interests because of its location below the hurricane belt.

The ministry said preliminary data from the Marine Services Association showed over 100 vessels en route to TT, while others had arrived safely, based on GPS tracking.

The ministry said all border agencies, including Customs and Excise, Immigration Division and Port Health, had been activated to process the arrival of vessels from the Eastern Caribbean seeking shelter and protection from the category-four storm.

The ministry said all customs fees have been temporarily waived as a measure of goodwill.

There were also changes to the inter-island sailing schedules. The Inter-Island Transportation Company said all sailings of the seabridge passenger ferries and cargo vessels will be cancelled on July 1.

Caribbean Airlines also announced changes to its regional and domestic flight schedules.
All regional and domestic flights on July 1 were cancelled.

Customers were advised of a waiver of all fees for tickets rebooked up to July 28.

At 5 pm on June 30, the Trinidad and Tobago Meteorological Service upgraded the hurricane warning for Tobago to red level.

Trinidad was updated to an orange-level tropical storm watch.