Port-of-Spain – Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley last week called a meeting with Tobago stakeholders following the government's failure to secure a suitable passenger ferry to service the inter-island sea-bridge. The meeting is due to take place August 21 at the Magdalena Grand Hotel in Tobago.
According to a statement from the Office of the Prime Minister, among those attending will be representatives from the Tobago Chamber of Commerce, the Tobago Hoteliers and Tourism Association, the Tobago Truckers Association, and the Tobago Unique Bread and Breakfast and Self-Catering Association. Also expected to attend are Tobago West MP Shamfa Cudjoe, and Tobago East MP Ayanna Webster-Roy, along with Minister of Works and Transport, Rohan Sinanan.
Rowley called the meeting following the decision by the Port Authority to cancel the contract with Vancouver-based Bridgemans Services Group LP, which leased the Ocean Flower II ferry to the government. The vessel encountered several delays during its journey to Trinidad, and did not arrive on deadline.
Also, chief engineer Brendon Powder, who carried out a sea trial of the vessel in Panama, identified a number of mechanical defects with the vessel. The report was received by the Port Authority of Trinidad and Tobago two days before the cancellation of the contract.
Last week Bridgemans Services Group said it is "exploring its options", adding it believes the cancellation to be invalid. The vessel was due to arrive in Trinidad waters on August 1. However, up to last week it was still in Panama.
President of the Tobago Truckers Association Horace Ameade said he would go to the Prime Minister's meeting with an open mind.
"What we want to see come out of this meeting is to have a proper working fast ferry to transport Tobagonians to and from Trinidad as they conduct their business on a daily basis. So we are going in with an open mind and after he makes his comments we will make our recommendations."
Asked if he felt Minister Sinanan, or the board of the Port Authority should resign, Ameade said the entire arrangement was suspect, and someone must take responsibility. On Sunday, in a front page editorial, the Express newspaper called for the resignation of both Sinanan and PATT.
Said Ameade: "Something is not above board. Somebody should be held accountable because it is taking a toll on business in Tobago. We really hope that people would stop thinking about themselves and think about the wider public in this situation."
President of the Hoteliers Association Chris James confirmed he would be attending the meeting next week, but said he did not want to make any comment until after the meeting.
The Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce said it appears the procurement process may not have followed best practice.
"Not surprisingly, this serves only to diminish any confidence we may have in attaining a sustainable sea-bridge service in the near-term," the Chamber said.
It added that the other vessel, the Cabo Star, already in operation, has failed to meet expectations. There have been reports of challenges with this vessel, among them air conditioning units not working along with malfunctioning washroom facilities.
Two days before its announcement of the contract’s termination, PATT received Powder's report outlining the unsuitability of the ferry. It revealed during a sea trial in Panama, PATT's technical team found "it was untenable to have this vessel sail to Trinidad with the mechanical defects identified".
Based on inspections and a sea trial, the report noted "none of the main engines' Oil Mist Detectors were functional, or even had a power supply to them, which is highly dangerous and poses a potential explosion risk in the engine crankcase".
According to the report, Powder stated, "...I therefore cannot recommend the M/V Ocean Flower 2 for the inter-island high speed ferry service between Port-of-Spain and Scarborough at this time or until such issues mentioned hereinabove are addressed and rectified."
Additionally, the report stated Bridgemans’ president, Brian Grange, "witnessed the sea trial and the mechanical issues of the vessel and agreed to remain in Colon, Panama, to urgently attend to all repairs prior to the vessel sailing to Trinidad".
According to the report, during the sea trial, PATT noted, among other issues, all four engines were not operating, oil leaks were present around the engines, with exhaust and fuel leaks in the engine room, an absence of the vessel's maintenance history, and it "rocked a lot in choppy waters".
The trial was also delayed by an hour due to difficulty in getting the engines running. The report also stated "exhaust leaks from the port inner main engine were significant with the other three engines not far behind and portions of the lagging were either damaged or missing".
It added: "This posed quite a significant fire hazard and will affect the performance of the main engines as the turbochargers and charge air cooler will become affected. Some fuel leaks existed along the main engine pipe work which again is a fire hazard."
The report also noted "no galley facilities exist on board therefore hot meals will not be able to be prepared on the ship. Everything will need to be externally catered for and brought on for sale. Space is also very limited for storage of drinks for bar sales".
However, PATT noted the passenger spaces were impressive, and the overall condition of the hull, superstructure, jet-rooms, engine rooms, vehicle deck, passenger spaces and bridge were "satisfactory" for a high-speed craft built in 1996.
Powder also noted: "Many of the main machinery defects clearly were in that state for some time and from my conversations with the vessel's engineering department, were not only deemed regular to them, but their overall attitude was sailing with the machinery in this condition was normal."
Meanwhile, Bridgemans has indicated it is exploring options following cancellation of the contract. In a news release sent out last week, the company defended its reputation, stating: "Bridgemans Services does not agree the cancellation is valid. Bridgemans is considering its options on how to move forward. In the meantime, Bridgemans has also provided PATT with a short-term day rental proposal for its consideration."
Last week Thursday Bridgemans vice-president Andrew Purdey was in Trinidad to discuss the cancellation, and what appears to have been problems with the Cabo Star. He promised to bring the Ocean Flower II up-to-mark, and also offered a free one-month trial of the vessel to PATT.
Bridgemans also indicated the vessel would be ready for service if called upon. The company also addressed speculation as to the legitimacy of its operations, following media reports in Trinidad and Tobago its offices and executives were proving impossible to locate.
Stating it has a proven track record and a highly-skilled staff of one hundred, it added: "The contracts between PATT and Bridgemans Services have been negotiated and completed within the highest standards of professionalism and ethics while under the guidance of international maritime law, contracts supported by international and highly reputable legal firms."

Port-of-Spain – Oropouche East MP Dr Roodal Moonilal last week charged that Agriculture Minister Clarence Rambharat’s visits to the Police Academy in St James “once more unveils the obsession of government ministers with personal security while the rest of the society remains unprotected from rampaging criminals”.
Moonilal said government ministers are recklessly abusing their respective offices while law-abiding citizens “are living in fear of the horrendous gun culture that has overtaken the country”.
He claimed the firearms training which Rambharat received was a continuation of the issue involving relatives of Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi receiving training with high-powered weapons at the Trinidad and Tobago’s Defence Force’s Camp Cumuto. A TTDF inquiry into that matter found Al-Rawi was not guilty of any wrongdoing.
Moonilal said the Police Service must heed the recommendation of the Police Social and Welfare Association for an “urgent and independent investigation” into this matter”.
At a post-Cabinet news conference last week, Rambharat said his wife Camille accompanied him and all protocols were followed.
Moonilal said any enquiry must show “who granted permission for the activity by the minister and his wife at a sensitive and private site, to which civilians are not usually allowed”.
Moonilal said Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley must indicate whether there is an official policy that permits such shooting practice. He also said new TTDF Chief of Defence Staff Commodore Hayden Pritchard must reveal pertinent details of this service to government ministers.
Rambharat said neither Rowley nor National Security Minister Edmund Dillon raised any concerns with him about his visit to the academy.
Acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams confirmed that historically the Police Service has been providing a service in the form of firearms training for government ministers and public officials.
“I do not see this as a matter for the public especially which government official has a firearm and where he or she goes to train,” Williams said.

Port-of-Spain – Trinidad and Tobago men’s 4x400-metre relay team captured gold in the final event on Sunday at the 2017 IAAF World Championships in London, England.
The quartet of Jarrin Solomon, Jereem Richards, Machel Cedenio and Lalonde Gordon emerged victorious over the US and hosts Great Britain/Northern Ireland, in a time of 2:58.12 seconds – the fastest time in the world this year and a new Trinidad and Tobago record.
The 31-year-old American- born Solomon replaced Renny Quow – who was involved in the preliminary round on Saturday – for the first leg, and the member of the 2012 Olympic Games bronze medal 4x400m relay team had a steady run before handing off to Richards.
The 22-year-old Richards, bronze medallist at the World Champs on Thursday, had a magnificent second leg as Trinidad and Tobago moved up to second place, at the halfway point of the race.
Cedenio, the 21-year-old national quarter-mile champion, did a fine run as he managed to hold off Great Britain/Northern Ireland’s third leg runner Rabah Yousif to keep within touching distance of US runner Michael Cherry. Lalonde Gordon, double Olympic bronze medallist at the London venue five years ago, kept pace with US runner Fred Kerley for most of the final leg.
However, with Kerley slowing up in the final 50 metres, the 28-year-old Gordon produced a burst of energy to overtake the American. The US placed second in 2:58.61, with Great Britain/Northern Ireland third in 2:59.00.

Port-of-Spain – A High Court judge last week called on Parliament to revise immigration laws to more clearly define the powers of Immigration officials in handling illegal immigrants and refugees.
Justice Carol Gobin made the call as she ordered the immediate release of Nigerian Henry Ekwedike, who was unlawfully detained while applying for permanent residency through his Trinidadian wife after living in Trinidad for almost a decade.
Gobin said: “The challenges posed by increased illegal immigration, human trafficking and a phenomenon which we may well anticipate of growing numbers of refugee arrivals, make it imperative, in my humble view, that those who are charged with the power and responsibility to address defects in the legislation do so sooner rather than later.”
In her 19-page judgement delivered in the Port-of-Spain High Court during the Judiciary’s annual vacation, Gobin said the Immigration Division officers acted unlawfully when they issued Ekwedike rejection and supervision orders during a routine visit to their offices to follow up on his residency application on March 29.
Ekwedike was detained on April 12 when he visited the office without a return ticket to Nigeria, as required under the orders, and because officials were suspicious of the fact that his wife had stopped attending the meetings with him since 2015.
Gobin ruled that the orders were illegal, as they were reserved for persons who are rejected admission into Trinidad and Tobago on first entry and not those who were engaged in a residency application process.
“It would mean that such persons who are simply trying to observe our immigration laws and to comply with the directions of authorities would have to do so on pain of summary arrest and detention,” Gobin said.
“While such power may be obviously necessary for the effective discharge of their duties at ports of entry, it would hardly be reasonably required for processing extension applications for permitted entrants,” she said.
As part of her ruling, Gobin ordered that the State pay Ekwedike’s legal costs for bringing the habeas corpus application to challenge his detention.
Ekwedike was represented by Fareed Scoon, Navindra Ramnanan, Wesley George, Ricky Pandohee and Nathifa Lowman.
According to the evidence in his case, Ekwedike entered Trinidad and Tobago illegally through Moruga in early 2008 and married a Trinidadian woman in June that year. In 2009, he and his wife visited the Immigration Division’s offices to apply for residency for him through her nationality and were informed he had to leave Trinidad and re-enter through a legal port of entry to begin the process.
Ekwedike complied, went through Guyana and was granted entry at the Piarco International Airport. He submitted an application and was granted permission by the Ministry of National Security to stay and work in Trinidad and Tobago without a work permit while it was being processed. In 2015, Ekwedike was ordered to pay a security bond as part of the process.
He sought and received several extensions and was seeking a fourth when he was issued the orders.
In their evidence in the case, immigration officers claimed they became suspicious of Ekwedike after they asked about his wife and he claimed that she had stopped attending as she had gotten a job on a cruise ship. Later checks revealed his wife had never been issued a passport.
In her judgement, Gobin did not analyse the status of Ekwedike’s marriage save and except to say that they no longer lived together but were still legally married. Since being detained, Ekwedike had been housed at the Immigration Detention Centre in Aripo.