Passengers trying to make their way to Tobago via the Galleons Passage were left confused as to the exact reason why the vessel had to return to the Port of Port-of-Spain while on the way to the Scarborough Port yesterday.
The vessel was making the journey to Tobago after having departed Port-of-Spain around 11 am. The vessel was scheduled to arrive in Tobago at 4.30 pm
But passengers claim around 2 pm, almost midway through the journey, it was announced that the Galleons Passage would not make it to Scarborough but had to return to Trinidad.
One man,who made a short recording, which has been making the rounds on social media, claims passengers were told rough seas and bad weather were being given as the reasons for the journey being aborted. His recording showed bright sun and calm seas.
Later another video surfaced showing passengers having to disembark and remove their cars from on board the vessels at the Port of Port- of- Spain.
Checks with meteorologists revealed there were no bulletins for rough seas or adverse weather.
rumours have been swirling about mechanical problems facing the Galleons Passage and the T&T Spirit from THA’s Minority Leader Watson Duke.
Efforts were made to contact the acting chief executive officer of the inter island transportation company, Vilma Lewis Cockburn, for a comment but they were futile.
In a statement late yesterday, Nidco said the vessel experienced rough sea conditions which resulted in it returning to Port-of-Spain/
It said sea conditions experienced were recorded at 3.5 metres when the average measurement is capped at 1.5 metres. During the rough sea conditions, two panels on the car deck became dislodged and came into contact with two vehicles resulting in minor damage to both vehicles.
In the interest of safety, the captain decided to return to Port-of-Spain to have the panel system repaired.