Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan says he expects the Galleons Passage to be in service “shortly,” but just when that will be is still to be determined since there are still some issues with the berthing of the vessel to be worked out.
However, the Port Authority of T&T will have to spend more than the initially planned TT$8 million set out for building a ramp to facilitate the vessel, as adjustments now have to be made after it was realised the existing one built for Tobago will not work.
The Galleons Passage made another sea trial to Tobago on Saturday and encountered problems berthing at the Port of Scarborough after its arrival.
Sinanan said for the naysayers who had forecast that the vessel would make the trip in seven to eight hours, the vessel took a little over four hours to make the trip to Scarborough and about the same time for the return trip to Port-of-Spain.
He said once the vessel goes on the seabridge, the estimated travel time is between four hours and four-and-a-half hours.
He said, “It is not a fast ferry, it is a regular ferry and four hours.... four-and-a-half hours to Tobago, we are very happy with that.”
The vessel is still to get all the certification required to assume duties on the seabridge but Nidco chairman Herbert George, who sailed on board the vessel on the trial run to Tobago on Saturday, was optimistic that this could happen soon.
George said there was “some tweaking” to do on the ramp “to make it fit for all seasons whether it be high tide or low tide."
He said that work would be done in the next week “and hopefully during that time we would get the necessary certificates and so from the Marine Services Department to be able to sail the vessel with passengers.”
With specific reference to the ramp, George said, “We are going to make it wider so that the vessel can berth there much easier.”
Sinanan said Nidco has indicated that “by the time they rectify the berthing issues they expect the full certification to be in place.”
He explained that the Galleons Passage was not built to specifications for the local ports, pointing out that all the vessels on the seabridge - the T&T Spirit and the T&T Express -, which were bought second hand, required the installation of huge ramps for berthing.
"This vessel is no different, we had to develop a very small ramp,” he said.
Saturday’s berthing, he said, was “part of the routine” and he expects that the “boat will be in service very shortly because there are no major problems to stop the boat.”
On its initial trial run to Tobago, the vessel was unable to berth from the bow (the front of the vessel) and last Saturday officials realised that berthing from the stern would be easier if the ramp was wider.
Port chairman Lyle Alexander said the work to be done at both the Scarborough and Port-of-Spain Port to facilitate berthing of the vessel would be in addition to the TT$8 million which was spent on the ports in readiness for the Galleons Passage prior to its arrival in the country.
He said, “This is additional work that is required, upon arrival of the vessel we realised we have to get the ramp to refit the port so this is what is being worked on at both ports.”
Alexander could not say how much the additional work would cost but indicated that Nidco had already retained a contractor to do the required work.