Political Leader of the Tobago People’s Party (TPP) and Chief Secretary, Farley Augustine, says it has never been a secret that the Cabo Star will be unavailable on the inter-island route from January 12th, 2026.
At a Political Meeting on Tuesday night, Mr. Augustine described concerns raised by the People’s National Movement regarding the Cabo Star no longer being available from January 12th as another attempt to deceive Tobagonians.
He explained that in June, Minister of Works and Infrastructure Jearlean John informed the THA and stakeholders of the plans.
“It was on June the 11th, 2025, where yours truly, as Chief Secretary, had the Minister with responsibility for the boat Ms. Jearlean John, she came to my office. In that meeting we had the head of the Port, head of the Inter-island Ferry Service, we had the head of the Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Williams, we had the representative of the Hospitality and Tourism Association. We had people from the Truckers Association, supermarkets. We had the stakeholders represented in that meeting.”
Mr. Augustine admitted that he was unaware that the boat was being sold but explained the owners can make that decision, which is not controlled by the THA or the central government.
“It was said in my presence that the contract for the Cabo Star will come to an end in this January, and when it comes to an end, there has to be a tender process in accordance with OPR to either re-engage or engage somebody new. So it was never a secret. Nobody ain’t trying to hide. There was no mystery behind the election date being the 12th and the Cabo Star not being here as of the 12th.”
Mr. Augustine said stakeholders gave their suggestions on the specifications for a suitable vessel during the meeting earlier this year.
“They said they want a ferry that will provide for proper hospitality. The first thing they said. The second thing they was look the Cabo Star have about five cabins and from the five cabins, three of them is for staff and they have to share the rest of cabins. So they said they will like to see more cabins. The third thing they said about the boat that they wanted they say look once upon a time Tobagonians use to be able to go to Trinidad, do business and not have to take more than a day from work. So they were saying if the Cabo Star have more cabins, the Cabo Star can accommodate a little bit more cars as well as the cargo then some persons can take the option of taking the cargo boat late in the night, get into Port of Spain, get your business done, and catch the fast ferry back to Tobago.”
Mr. Augustine added that after being made aware of the recent allegations, he reached out to the Minister of Works and Infrastructure for an update on the situation.
“She said Chief Secretary, we already went out. We have evaluation team that returned from Spain and Greece last week, and I am going to Cabinet this Thursday to present to the Cabinet the option that those that did the evaluation said we should go with. She even said to me right now we exploring an option for a vessel that would have as much as 100 cabins because we listened to your stakeholders.”
The Chief Secretary noted that he is unaware of the cost and which vessel has been selected. However, he expressed confidence in the government’s decision to make a choice with Tobagonians in mind.