“There is currently no cargo backlog in Trinidad or Tobago.”
This is according to Minister of Works and Infrastructure Jearlean John, who dismissed claims of bottlenecks on the inter-island sea bridge at both the Port of Port of Spain and the Port of Scarborough.
Amid public unease over alleged delays on the inter-island sea bridge, the Minister toured the Blue Wave Harmony on Monday morning, noting that she had personally verified cargo operations with senior executives of the Port Authority, NIDCO, and port operations teams.
During an on-site inspection of the vessel, she walked through the loading area, demonstrating that no freight is being left behind.
“I have found that the conversation regarding cargo and the capacity for cargo, well, making that trip across the bridge in Tobago has really deteriorated. I’m about the facts, so this morning I want to ask the CEO of the Port, where is the stored up cargo, the cargo that can’t get to Tobago?”
The General Manager and CEO of the Port Authority of Trinidad and Tobago, Marcia Charles-Elbourne, responded, “We have no stored cargo for Tobago. We clear the yard with each operation and each sailing, so there’s currently no backlog. So we have trucks that are waiting to load at this time.”
Minister John emphasised that the ship has the capacity and that it takes every type of cargo brought to the ramp.
“Not only does this Blue Wave transport cargo, cargo is also transported by all of these passenger vessels. This takes all the breaks, all the bitumen, all the oxygen, the dangerous goods, the poultry, and so on. This boat is a beast. It takes everything.”
She said there’s absolutely “no reason for panic,” insisting that everything ordered by Tobago-based businesses will be on Monday night’s sailing.
“As a matter of fact, this ramp that we are on is supposed to close at three o’clock today. But once vehicles come here, they take the vehicles. They take everything. They don’t leave anything. And they are going to leave it down for me until nine tonight. So what I’m confirming this morning is whatever they have ordered, all, all, all of what they have ordered will be on this boat tonight.”
The Blue Wave Harmony, currently in its sea-trial phase, has 1,925 lane metres of cargo capacity, which the Minister said is sufficient to meet national demand, with supplemental capacity being provided by passenger vessels, which can accommodate up to 7,000kg cargo vehicles.
“All of that is space. And this is on the lower deck, right? When you go on the upper deck, you have even more space.”
The Minister added that the vessel remains on track to begin full commercial operations on March 1st and stressed that maintaining efficient inter-island cargo movement remains a “critical national priority”, pledging continued on-the-ground oversight to ensure sustained operational efficiency and a reliable inter-island cargo service.
