Some construction items were successfully shipped to Tobago on Tuesday night. However, not for Almandoz Hardware. The owner of the hardware, Claude Almandoz, faces two reasons why he cannot rely on the MV Emprendedora for relief. The first reason is the vessel’s limited cargo space.
The second reason pertains to the length of required items, such as lumber and steel, typically transported in 45ft containers on the Cabo Star. The MV Emprendedora can only handle 20ft containers. To worsen the situation, Almandoz pointed out that he has not received a shipment of these items since the beginning of June, prior to the Cabo Star going on drydock.
The Cabo Star was in its second week of clearing the backlog when it experienced an engine room fire, rendering it out of service for the past three weeks. Almandoz disclosed that his hardware store suffered a 50% drop in sales during this period, all while having to cover the salaries of his thirteen employees and meet regular overhead expenses. His storehouses are depleted of essential items, including cement, sand, various building blocks, lumber, steel, galvanised materials, and more. Meanwhile, the sight of low or nonexistent stock in some cases raises another concern.
Almandoz characterises the situation as one where Tobago’s business community takes one step forward and two steps backward in terms of progress. The memory of the 2017 seabridge crisis remains vivid in his mind in light of the current predicament.
