Chief Secretary of the Tobago House of Assembly, Farley Augustine, says the business community will be pleased with the new inter-island cargo vessel, the MV Blue Wave Harmony.
Mr. Augustine toured the vessel on Tuesday with government officials and said he is very pleased with the potential he saw on the ship, especially for making business travellers feel at ease moving between the islands.
“The hospitality that is now available here was not readily available before, so through this vessel they can have access to hot meals. The downtime is much more comfortable than before.”
The ship can accommodate approximately 125 freight units, compared to about 90 trailers on the Cabo Star. It has fixed refrigerated sockets, which can be used for temperature-sensitive goods such as food and pharmaceuticals.
The Chief Secretary commended the Port Authority and the Minister of Works and Infrastructure for assisting with the speedy negotiations that brought the boat to this country.
Minister Jearlean John says the reductions in the cost of transportation being brought by this new ship will remove a lot of anxiety from the hearts of Tobagonians.
“An item that costs $1 in Port of Spain, by the time you get to Speyside and Charlottesville, is $2.50 and a lot of that is because of the cost of transportation, right? There’s always an anxiety that comes with transportation. This link, this is not just a link, just a sea bridge, this is a link of hope.”
She says her next focus and concern is the upkeep of the vessel, and she will ensure that the comforts are enhanced so as not to allow it to be degraded.
Chairman of Port Authority of Trinidad and Tobago, Dr. Rodney Ramroop, says the vessel is an essential link between the islands, especially now during the Carnival season.
“At this time we have Carnival, we have Panorama, we have steelbands, and steelbands that will have to be transported from Tobago to Port of Spain. So it’s a connectivity of culture. The same way we use steelbands to bring notes together to produce a sound, we are using this vessel to bring culture and people together.”
The Ministry of Works and Infrastructure says work has already begun on longer-term planning beyond the lease period.