In 2017, the Tobago business community was in conflict with the central government, particularly the Minister of Works and Transport, Rohan Sinannan, due to the collapse of the seabridge. This led to the introduction of two new passenger ferries, the APT James and Buccoo Reef. While the central government has claimed to have addressed the seabridge issues, the Chairman of the Tobago Division of the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry Curtis Williams and Commerce, has pointed out that the current conditions of the seabridge demonstrate that all is not well.
Vice President Demi John Cruickshank noted that it has been a while since they last had an audience with Minister Sinannan. The Chamber did admit that they did not hold the government accountable for promises they made, such as the construction of a specially built cargo vessel for the sea bridge.
In addition, the government was supposed to have the T&T Spirit as a backup for emergency situations, like the one currently being experienced, according to Cruickshank. While they plan to step up their advocacy to the government, they dismissed calls from Senator Lawrence Hislop that the business community is too dependent on daily shipments via the seabridge. Senator Hislop criticized Tobago’s businesses for not having enough storage capacity on the island. However, the Chamber said that Senator Hislop is not being realistic or fair to businesses.
The Chamber is hoping that the Cabo Star returns to service on Monday, September 18th, as promised by the Port Authority, along with the scheduled meeting with the Minister. If not, they fear a return to the problems experienced in 2017.
