Chairman of the Tobago Chamber of Commerce Demi John Cruikshank said Tobago was short of bread yesterday, following a situation on Tuesday night when the Super Fast Galicia cargo vessel was unable to dock at the Scarborough Port.
Reports are that the visiting British Naval Vessel the RFA Wave Knight was docked in the area where the Galicia was to have berthed and a cocktail reception was taking place. But the British High Commission is saying there was no reason why the Galicia could not have docked.
Cruikshank told the T&T Guardian that the British vessel was “cleared to park in the channel where the Galicia had to pass by the pilots who tell vessels where to berth.” As a result “there was an eruption of chaos on the Port of Scarborough, hundreds of truckers people had perishable goods; the vessel could not offload or take on cargo so people lost a lot of revenue and Tobago was short on bread today,” he said.
He said, however, that the naval vessel was scheduled to leave at 5 pm yesterday and the Galicia would have been able to dock last night with no issues.
But chair of the chamber’s Transportation Committee, Diane Hadad, described the situation with the Galicia on Tuesday night as “unacceptable.” She said the fact that cargo destined for the island had to be sent back was a “blow to business, all our goods went back to Trinidad.” She said she had to call truckers at midnight Tuesday “to tell them the trucks coming back loaded, there were perishables on the vessel, things like Kiss bread.”
Hadad said the business community in Tobago “had been struggling to get things going and now there was the added effect of goods being delayed.”
Seamen and Waterfront Workers’ Trade Union president Michael Annisette told the T&T Guardian that the Galicia was unable to berth because “the RFA Wavelength was docked in an area which made it impossible for the Galicia to berth.”
In a statement, the British High Commission said, “There is no truth in reports that RFA Wave Knight’s mooring position is blocking the ferry service into Tobago. It is moored outside Scarborough port away from the deep water channel entry to the port used by the ferry as agreed with the T&T authorities.”
It noted that “the T&T Spirit docked in Scarborough as usual on November 1 while the RFA Wave Knight was moored in its position. It is unclear why the Super Fast Galicia did not dock similarly. We are working with the authorities to establish what the issue is and to resolve it."
But Cruikshank said “because the naval vessel was parked in the wrong position there was no way the Galicia could have berthed.”
The T&T Inter-Island Transportation Company Limited (TTIT) put it down to “communication issues with all parties involved in operations on the said day.” In a statement, it said, “The Super Fast Galicia was unable to occupy its normal berth at the Port of Scarborough as scheduled. This resulted in the vessel’s return to Trinidad, causing major upset with our customers who expected to offload their cargoes destined for Tobago.”
The TTIT apologised to all port users, truckers and shippers for the inconvenience caused.
The T&T Guardian has been reliably informed that angry truckers traded words with officers from the British naval vessel, “which although not physical did leave a nasty taste in the mouths of those who witnessed it.”
Annisette said the Galicia captain waited more than three hours for the British vessel to move from where it was docked, but this was “in vain and he eventually turned the vessel around and came back to Trinidad.” He said the Galicia crew was told by the British vessel that they “had been directed to drop anchor there by the Pilot Association and the crew had completed their shift and were on shore leave so it would be impossible to move the vessel.”
Asked why the Galicia simply did not manoeuvre around the RFA Wavelength and dock elsewhere, Annisette said, “It would have compromised the safety of both the British naval vessel and the Galicia.”
It meant that no goods were delivered to Tobago overnight. Members of the Tobago business community are questioning why the Port Authority allowed the British vessel to drop anchor when it knew the Galicia would have needed to berth to bring supplies to the island.
But Annisette said, “The pilot and berthing association is responsible. The Port in this circumstance is a victim.”
Efforts to contact Port chairman Christine Sahadeo and communications manager Betty Ann Gibbons were unsuccessful yesterday.
The RFA Wave Knight was in Trinidad and Tobago waters to carry out a programme which included emergency planning with the Tobago Emergency Management Agency and some community support projects in Tobago.