A war of words occurred yesterday outside the Senate, as United National Congress Senator Wade Mark insisted Government’s planned Jean de La Valette vessel is defective and the lease must be cancelled and Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan defended the lease, dismissing Mark’s claims.
“If the evidence on this vessel conforms to the reports we’ve found on defectiveness, Government must cancel this arrangement ASAP because passengers’ safety is paramount,” Mark told reporters.
But Sinanan said if the vessel was defective it wouldn’t have been operating in Europe under laws there and if it had been involved in previous arbitration, it wasn’t Government’s concern.
Mark summoned reporters to the corridor outside the Parliament chamber soon after Sinanan, during the Senate sitting, accused Mark of spreading “fake news” about the vessel.
Sinanan had earlier replied to Mark’s queries on the vessel, saying it was a medium-term solution for the seabridge until Government receives its long term solution of the two fast ferries ordered from Australia. The current short term solution is the continued use of T&T Spirit and the Galleons Passage.
Sinanan said the Jean de La Valette was being leased for a year and tenders were issued locally and internationally last August, closing last October. He said recommendation was made with the preferred tenderer, Virtu Holdings, after three companies produced options.
Sinanan said the contract - for one year with an option to renew for a further six months, is currently being finalised by Nidco. He couldn’t give cost figures. He said Nidco used the professional services of a specialised maritime firm in the UK to ensure the contract was in keeping with maritime agreements.
Mark asked if Sinanan was aware the Jean de la Valette is “... A defective vessel, subject to arbitration in the UK and also court proceedings in Australia?”
But Sinanan said he expected the Opposition to bring “fake news and try to damage Government’s efforts to have a better sea bridge.”
Mark left the Chamber and subsequently told reporters in the corridor that he stood by his position.
“This vessel is defective,” Mark insisted, displaying a printout of a February 2017 report which stated Australian shipbuilder Austal was locked in an arbitration fight with Virtu Ferries over the construction of the vessel.
The report noted that the 800-passenger, 230-car vessel was built in 2010. It stated that Virtu, which had operated ferry services between Malta and Sicily, had argued Austal should have alerted it to defects in the ferry’s ropax welds.
Mark said, “The people took this vessel to arbitration because it was defective, how can the Minister say I’m bringing ‘fake news?’”
Alleging Sinanan didn’t speak the truth in the Senate when he asked him about the vessel, Mark added, “It’s defective, the evidence is there. Reports on the matter said Austal settled a ‘longstanding arbitration matter which related to a latent defect in a commercial vessel’ delivered to a European customer, seven years ago.
“If they hired UK experts to check the situation, how come they didn’t observe these reports and if they had and Government was aware of the defect/arbitration situation, why are they putting passengers’ safety at risk with this vessel? If it was defective, how we know everything was fixed well? Government is once again buying cat in bag!”
After Mark spoke, Sinanan, who was also in the corridor, was asked about Mark’s comments. Sinanan noted that Nidco was handling the procurement. But he said all vessels for T&T are vetted by international maritime experts. He said if the vessel was in arbitration, that was before it was leased and arbitration wasn’t Government’s concern. He said many items which had been involved in legal matters are still leased or sold.
“All indications are the vessel has been operating. Our information is the people who leased it from Virtu are moving on to a larger vessel. More importantly, it’ll be proceeding to its mandatory drydocking before coming to T&T. We rely on international experts and once they certify it and our maritime experts certify it also, it means it can operate,” Sinanan said.
“Once all processes are completed and all goes as planned, Nidco’s indicated they’re looking at its arrival by end of May. The Opposition is trying to damage our efforts the same way they ‘worked on’ the Galleon’s Passage. I’m sure they’ll also find fault with the two new fast ferries being built.”