Soca Warriors Online Discussion Forum
General => General Discussion => Topic started by: Flex on February 11, 2014, 03:02:47 AM
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Church kicking out senior elder.
By Casandra Thompson - Forbes (Guardian).
A Tobago primary school principal appeared in the Scarborough Magistrates Court yesterday charged with 14 counts of sexual assault against four students. Shortly after 11 am, David Smith, 52, the principal of a prominent Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) school, stood before Magistrate Glen Mahabir as the charges were read to him.
All the charges were laid indictably and he was not called upon to plead. The T&T Guardian understands that the alleged victims range in ages from ten to 12 years old. The offences are a combination of indecent assault and serious indecency and are alleged to have taken place on the school compound.
Smith, a married father of five, was granted $400,000 bail subject to approval by a clerk of the peace. He was ordered to stay away from his alleged victims, not to contact them, either directly or indirectly, and to report to the Roxborough Police Station on Mondays and Thursdays between 7 am and 6 pm. The principal was represented by attorney Anthony Arnold. Mr Smith is also an elder in an Adventist Church in east Tobago. He is scheduled to reappear on March 10. The T&T Guardian understands the news of the alleged incidents had stunned the SDA community.
Contacted yesterday, communications officer of the Tobago Mission of Seventh Day Adventists, Wilfred des Vignes, said the church’s position has always been about maintaining high morals and spiritual values. “The standard of the church remains the same despite the incident that is now in the hand of the police and we are co-operating with the investigation as it has not yet been completed,” Des Vignes said.
He said the mission met with the Division of Education yesterday and it has pledged its support in counseling the students at the school. However, he said, the teachers and students at the school had managed to continue their activities yesterday despite the severity of the matter and the effect it had on the institution. “School is operating as normal.
All members of staff were on the job today (yesterday) and we are supporting the staff. We would have also had some discussions with the Division of Education and they are going to assist us in providing additional counseling and support for both the students and the teachers,” he said.
Des Vignes said Smith, who has been a principal of the school for approximately ten years, has been suspended from the position and has since been asked to step down as an elder of his church. Tobago police are continuing investigations.
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Another youngster struck down by possible cardiac-related issues ..
RIP young man.
Jamaican teen dies
By Kwame Laurence in Tobago
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/sports/Jamaican-teen-dies-246716901.html (http://www.trinidadexpress.com/sports/Jamaican-teen-dies-246716901.html)
Story Created: Feb 22, 2014 at 9:11 PM ECT
Story Updated: Feb 23, 2014 at 7:25 AM ECT
Jamaican Cavahn McKenzie died after completing the junior men’s six-kilometre event at yesterday’s North America, Central America and Caribbean (NACAC) Cross Country Championships, at the Mt Irvine Bay Golf Course, in Tobago.
McKenzie finished 21st in 20 minutes, 26 seconds, but then collapsed. He reportedly died in the ambulance while being taken to hospital.
National Association of Athletics Administrations (NAAA) president, Ephraim Serrette told the Express that 18-year-old McKenzie’s death was “cardiac related”.
Two more Jamaican athletes were taken to hospital late yesterday. At press time, no information about their condition was available.
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Not sure why the Express thinks his nationality is of such significance.
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Not sure why the Express thinks his nationality is of such significance.
Because he's not Trini
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http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/FORMER-MINISTER-MARTIN-JOSEPH-DROWNS-IN-TOBAGO-287502231.html
By Susan Mohammed susan.mohammed@trinidadexpress.com
Story Created: Jan 5, 2015 at 9:23 AM ECT
Story Updated: Jan 5, 2015 at 9:24 AM ECT
Former National Security Minister Martin Joseph, drowned in the waters off Tobago on Monday.
Joseph was reportedly staying at the Sky Lark villas, in the Mt Irving area. Early on Monday, he was with friends bathing in the sea, when he disappeared at around 7.30a.m.
His body was found a short time later, according to police.
According to the Parliament's website, Joseph has a background in management. From 1995 to 2002, he was the Member of Parliament for the St. Ann's East Constituency.
His appointment as a Cabinet minister began in 2001 when he assumed the portfolio of Minister of Public Utilities and the Environment. In October 2002, he was made a Government Senator and was given the portfolio of Minister of Housing, an appointment he held until November 2003. Joseph was appointed Minister of National Security in November 2003.
Joseph's formal education includes a Masters of Science in Economics from the University of Maryland, College Park, USA; a Bachelor of Arts in Geography and Regional Science: Minor in Economics, George Washington University, Washington D.C. USA; and an Associate Degree, Marine Sciences, University of the District of Columbia, Washington, D.C.
Joseph's professional accomplishments include participation on Committees to reform the structure by which the Parliament is managed; Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Public Transport Service Corporation (1992-1995); Member of the Board of Directors of the National Flour Mills Company Limited (1992-1995); Associate Faculty Member of Henley's Management College, United Kingdom, and Lecturer in Strategic Management at the Institute of Business of the University of the West Indies.
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Sorry to hear that. Condolences to the family!
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RIP was his very last dip
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https://www.youtube.com/v/aTf4O5GbREA
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Tobago’s Cove gets $24m overhaul.
By Sean Nero (Guardian).
Secretary of Finance and Enterprise Development in the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) Joel Jack announced an estimated $24 million plan to overhaul the operations at the Cove Eco-Industrial and Business Park in his presentation of the island’s Budget on Monday.
Jack said new strategic alliances, as well as a re-examination of how space on the facility is utilised, would certainly help the business park realise its mandate to be a new centre of commerce in the next fiscal year. He said he hoped new relationships established by officials at the facility would strengthen capacity building services to the island’s entrepreneurs and expand technological pursuits in innovation and information, communication and technology infrastructure.
“These, we are confident, will bring us closer to the realisation of some outcomes outlined in the island’s Comprehensive Economic Development Plan which speak to the island’s long term economic transformation,” he said.
“In staying true to the company’s raison d’etre of meaningful development of Tobago’s economic sectors while maintaining the Tobago brand, the Eco-Industrial Development Company of Tobago (E-IDCOT), will improve and increase tenanting at the Cove Industrial and Business Park, while enhancing the support infrastructure. The company will build on earlier gains to further increase Cove tenancy and ensure occupation of the two multi-purpose units (MPU). These MPUs will be occupied by small and micro agro-processing enterprise.”
The Finance Secretary added: “Agro-processing continues to be a high priority sector for stimulation by this administration. The larger available spaces have also been assigned to this sector to afford the intended local agro processors the ability to satisfy prerequisites for obtaining certification to export locally manufactured products to Europe and North America.
“Intensified construction activities at the Cove and direct marketing and promotion have increased application for tenancy and demand for additional factory spaces. To satisfy these requests another factory building will be constructed to house additional tenants increasing the factory stock to six in total by next year—an investment of $16 million.
“In addition to build space, there are approximately 60 lands lots now available. Existing lots will be resized to cater to tenants who may require smaller lots for their establishments.”
Jack said the park is open for business and E-IDCOT must ensure its tenants have access to infrastructure to ensure their businesses are competitive and as a direct result is making a $3 million investment to provide state-of-the-art communication access to all tenants to minimise technological barriers.
“This will be commissioned in August of this year. In December, a cell site will be erected by TSTT to serve the park. This follows the signing of a lease agreement earlier this year. A recycling and waste processing facility has also been approved for operation at the Cove. In addition, progress has been made with respect to the license to enable Decker Petroleum to operate a processing facility that utilise the condensate from the National Gas Company to produce bitumen and other by-product for export national and regionally,” Jack said.
“The executive council recently approved funds in the sum of $2 million to undertake a feasibility study for a port at the Cove. The funding has been allocated to identify an appropriate location, develop the request for proposal, select a suitable contractor to design and construct the facility and fund the preliminary work.”
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Give Tobago back to Tobagonians
By Elizabeth Williams (Express).
INDEPENDENT candidate in the upcoming general election, Public Services Association president Watson Duke, yesterday visited Goodwood, Tobago, to hear from residents what some of their concerns are.
Duke spoke with residents of the area.
“There are many clogged drains, there are many unemployed persons, there are many places that used to be fertile soil, now growing nothing. People are desperate and are looking out for some kind of leadership. Clearly Hayden Spencer has provided none. Therefore Watson Duke has stepped into the picture,” Duke said of himself.
He then commented on Tobago East representative Vernella Alleyne-Toppin, who won the seat on a Tobago Organisation of the People (TOP) ticket in 2010.
“Well she is out of the race. Clearly she is out of the race.” Duke said he is planning ahead with an eye on seats in the 2017 Tobago House of Assembly elections.
He said Tobago must be placed back into the hands of Tobago. Residents in the area told the Express of clogged drains and a lack of jobs.
No proper representation
Public health worker Jerad Manswell called for proper representation.
“Our problem in Goodwood is that we are not getting proper representation from no minister at all. Tobago on the whole, we want a change in Tobago, we fed up,” Manswell said.
Another resident, Terry Lashley, said the necessary tools to work were lacking.
“I working Richmond playing field. We getting a lot of problem up there. We are not getting tools to work,” Lashley said.
Darrel Hercules is unemployed.
“I am 29 years old, well I live by my boys and them still watch my back. Now and again when Watson pass through he give me a little thing,” Hercules, alias ‘Fidel Castro', said.
The Express contacted People's National Movement (PNM) representative for Belle Garden/Goodwood, Hayden Spencer, on the residents' plight.
Spencer said the village of Goodwood has been fully represented with the implementation of projects and programmes.
“The THA cannot do everything at the same time. Some projects and programmes have been rolled out, however the workers of the various divisions need to ensure they work productively. It has been observed in many gangs where a number of persons are just standing and not working. An honest day's work, for an honest day's pay,” Spencer said.
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THA official: Seaweed plaguing Tobago
By Casandra Thompson–Forbes
Secretary of the Division of Agriculture, Marine Affairs, Marketing and the Environment in the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) Godwyn Adams, says the natural occurrence of the sargassum seaweed is posing to be a challenge for his division.
Speaking at the post executive council news conference on Wednesday, Adams said the phenomenon of the seaweed which has been affecting most of the Caribbean islands was no different for Tobago. He said his division spearheaded a massive clean- up campaign, but the seaweed continues to return.
“The Division of Agriculture would have taken steps to challenge the cleaning up and the movement of the seaweeds, I am sure you would have observed that it keeps coming back. The last set of cleaning we would have effected we thought that was going to be the end of the line, but it keeps coming back and with tremendous deposits on the beaches,” he said.
The Atlantic side of Tobago has been mostly affected by the sargassum. However, Adams said a structured approach would be taken to deal with the situation to see how best all the stakeholders involved in the Tobago economy are less affected.
He said the tourism oriented areas and points frequented by fishermen would be given priority, as to return the aesthetics to the areas.
“We are going to challenge the beaches that are frequently used by bathers and those areas that the fisherfolk is affected. He said beaches affected would be cleaned on a needs basis and seaweed removed would be kept at storage centres in Louis D'or, Goldsborough and Courland so it can be cured for the purpose of producing fertilisers for plants.
(http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/Sargassum%20seaweed.jpg?itok=exWRYBc1)
Sargassum seaweed invades the picturesque tourism and fishing village of Speyside, home of the largest brain coral in the world and Little Tobago. Photo Casandra Thompson-Forbes
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https://www.youtube.com/v/czAcqNvhRAk
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Tobago gets billionaire visit
By Susan Mohammed (Express).
THE Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, is in Tobago on a visit.
The billionaire sheikh was expected to arrive on Thursday, and his luxury super yacht “Katara” is already docked at the Scarborough port.
Sheikh Al Thani visits Tobago annually and usually stays on his yacht, built at a cost of TT1.8 billion and the 14 largest in the world.
At 124 metres in length, is almost 30 metres longer than the fast ferries TT Express and TT Spirit.
Sheikh Al Thani is the eighth and current Emir of the State of Qatar, and the youngest reigning monarch among the Gulf Corporation Council (GCC) countries.
The British-educated Sheikh Hamad bin Al Thani was named emir of Qatar, one of the richest countries in the world in June 2013 after his 61-year-old father, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, announced his abdication as leader of the gas-rich Gulf state.
He is said to be worth over $39 billion.
It is uncertain if the Sheikh will need to leave his floating palace for a guest room in any of the islands’ hotels, since the yacht would probably be more luxurious than anything Tobago has to offer.
(http://www.trinidadexpress.com/storyimage/TT/20151008/LOCAL/151009656/AR/0/AR-151009656.jpg&MaxW=730&imageversion=Article)
Tobago: The super yacht Katara docked at Scarborough, Tobago. Photo: Allan V. Crane
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(https://scontent-lax3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/12079335_10205151453687024_7733865070513754350_n.jpg?oh=7b58c542377ff20c4ed4ba59594ae60a&oe=568E96DD)
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Never hear bout he visiting Tobago before.....nice....
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He probably came to bring de remaining money for Jack from de Qatar 2022 world cup bid.
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Never hear bout he visiting Tobago before.....nice....
Heard is years that he coming.
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first Indian (looking) to get good treatment in Bago. $$ talks!
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Tobago gets billionaire visit
By Susan Mohammed (Express).
(http://www.trinidadexpress.com/storyimage/TT/20151008/LOCAL/151009656/AR/0/AR-151009656.jpg&MaxW=730&imageversion=Article)
Tobago: The super yacht Katara docked at Scarborough, Tobago. Photo: Allan V. Crane
Jeeez....da fellah makin the T&T money class look like dey scruntin
I suspect, like all de mega rich and super celebrities..de only reason dem fellahs does reach dong we side is to check ah outside woman
dougla winer gyirls does be Haram on he side of the planet
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first Indian (looking) to get good treatment in Bago. $$ talks!
That's a very loaded statement bordering on trying to brand Tobago people as being racist against Indians.
I personally know of Afro-Trinis who received shabby treatment in Tobago simply because they were not viewed by the locals as having loads of money to spend.
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Racism perceptions / allegations against East Indians in Tobago is nothing new, and have existed since 1889.
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first Indian (looking) to get good treatment in Bago. $$ talks!
Wow, Dred, that is quite a statement to make about Tobago people.
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first Indian (looking) to get good treatment in Bago. $$ talks!
Hmm this visit to Tobago rubbed you a type of way eh
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first Indian (looking) to get good treatment in Bago. $$ talks!
Wow, Dred, that is quite a statement to make about Tobago people.
when you hear (it mentioned time and time again.. even here at times) and people in your company experience it first-hand, what is there left to say? Yes, a generalization, but like so many comments on this forum that goes without question. lets see if anyone can question MY experience.
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first Indian (looking) to get good treatment in Bago. $$ talks!
Wow, Dred, that is quite a statement to make about Tobago people.
when you hear (it mentioned time and time again.. even here at times) and people in your company experience it first-hand, what is there left to say? Yes, a generalization, but like so many comments on this forum that goes without question. lets see if anyone can question MY experience.
Your experience isn't everyone's experience. What you hear time and time again isn't what others hear time and time again. If that was the case I would NEVER encourage anyone to visit T&T. Just saying...if your generalization is totally factual and can be written in stone for EVERYONE, you have a valid point. Not discrediting your own personal experience though..
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Glad that everyone is seeing how Jumbie thinks.
So far no one who is logical has supported his view of Tobago people aka "African" people.
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first Indian (looking) to get good treatment in Bago. $$ talks!
From the heart of my Tobagonian bottom, you're a firetrucking idiot!!......
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Your experience isn't everyone's experience. What you hear time and time again isn't what others hear time and time again. If that was the case I would NEVER encourage anyone to visit T&T. Just saying...if your generalization is totally factual and can be written in stone for EVERYONE, you have a valid point. Not discrediting your own personal experience though..
Agree! and it's important that you did not discredit my experience and that of those in my group (btw it's not a one time experience). Forget 'tourism" for a second.. if we are to forge ahead as a people we need to address such issues with the same passion and seriousness as other race related ones.
I fly my flag very high and am very proud of my heritage, so it sickens me when I'm not afforded the same treatment not just in Tobago, but in areas of Trinidad as well.
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first Indian (looking) to get good treatment in Bago. $$ talks!
From the heart of my Tobagonian bottom, you're a firetrucking idiot!!......
;D
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Glad that everyone is seeing how Jumbie thinks.
So far no one who is logical has supported his view of Tobago people aka "African" people.
and you said.. "I personally know of Afro-Trinis who received shabby treatment in Tobgo simply because they were not viewed by the locals as having loads of money to spend."
so you're saying the people of Tobago are?
my experience is MINES! spin how ever you want.
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Glad that everyone is seeing how Jumbie thinks.
So far no one who is logical has supported his view of Tobago people aka "African" people.
and you said.. "I personally know of Afro-Trinis who received shabby treatment in Tobago simply because they were not viewed by the locals as having loads of money to spend."
so you're saying the people of Tobago are?
my experience is MINES! spin how ever you want.
What I was pointing out is that it has nothing to do with race my friend but I guess that clear point went above your biased head?
Tobago's economy is based on tourism so those who look like they have loads of money to spend regardless of race will automatically get more attention. Its the same in Barbados and most other tourist based economies in the Caribbean.
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What I was pointing out is that it has nothing to do with race my friend but I guess that clear point went above your biased head?
Tobago's economy is based on tourism so those who looks like they have loads of money to spend will automatically get more attention. Its the same in Barbados and most other tourist based economic islands in the Caribbean.
Let's stick to $$ for a second. How does one (Tobago for example) know how much money I have? I assure you, it's has nothing to do with how I dress, what I drive or how I carry about myself. What does it leave? Hmm my biased head.. so easy for you to pretend to know.
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What I was pointing out is that it has nothing to do with race my friend but I guess that clear point went above your biased head?
Tobago's economy is based on tourism so those who looks like they have loads of money to spend will automatically get more attention. Its the same in Barbados and most other tourist based economic islands in the Caribbean.
Let's stick to $$ for a second. How does one (Tobago for example) know how much money I have? I assure you, it's has nothing to do with how I dress, what I drive or how I carry about myself. What does it leave? Hmm my biased head.. so easy for you to pretend to know.
People are people.
The point I am making is that treatment in tourist based economies are not based on race but on how much money people look like they have to spend. I have experienced the same myself.
Your racial look at most things is clearly clouding your judgement.
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People are people.
The point I am making is that treatment in tourist based economies are not based on race but on how much money people look like they have to spend. I have experienced the same myself.
Your racial look at most things is clearly clouding your judgement.
Please explain? (providing you can)
Edit: My family own a cocoa and coffee estate in Tobago so we're there very often (not a one time thing unfortunately).
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People are people.
The point I am making is that treatment in tourist based economies are not based on race but on how much money people look like they have to spend. I have experienced the same myself.
Your racial look at most things is clearly clouding your judgement.
Please explain? (providing you can)
Edit: My family own a cocoa and coffee estate in Tobago so we're there very often (not a one time thing unfortunately).
I told you from the beginning that I personally know Afro-Trinis who got similar treatment like yourself in Tobago. If that does not make it clear that it has nothing to do with race then your are truly brainwashed in a racial thinking manner.
You seem to be extrapolating your one off experience to all folks in Tobago. There are racist people everywhere, I believe there are way more racist people in Trinidad than in Tobago based on population. Tobagonians are generally no more racist than Trinidadians are.
Here is a nice calypso for Jumbie to help him uncloud his biased thinking.
Penguin - People Is People (1983)
https://www.youtube.com/v/HTkhCbsTtyQ
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I see you can't. No real surprise there. :rotfl:
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It 's clear that this is a painful subject for some, but it's reality for others. I won't press it as it will result in further childish name calling and others branding me racist (which is the norm here). Rather than see this as a problem which needs addressing. We talk about "Tourism" and we can't even get it right with local tourism.. forget the foreign market at this point.
And I'm the brainwashed idiot.
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I see you can't. No real surprise there. :rotfl:
I explained it by telling you that people is people and to stop extrapolating a one off experience to everyone.
Any intelligent person can work that out for themselves so its a pity I have to pull you up for exptrapolating.
That is exactly how racist people think.
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It 's clear that this is a painful subject for some, but it's reality for others. I won't press it as it will result in further childish name calling and others branding me racist (which is the norm here). Rather than see this as a problem which needs addressing. We talk about "Tourism" and we can't even get it right with local tourism.. forget the foreign market at this point.
And I'm the brainwashed idiot.
No one is branding you racist. We are simply describing what you are implying.
If that points to you sounding racist then you need to look in the mirror.
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Forumites, we should not discount jumbie's account of his personal experience in Tobago. It is his experience. I have not been to Tobago in about 10 yrs. But in the early 70s, I spent memorable "august holidays" around Bacolet. That beach was mines. The people were nice. Yes they spoke different from Trinis.
But I remember some Tobagonian having a disdain for Trinis who came there with an attitude. I remember me and some PTSC buddies went there for a week, and we left Pigeon Point beach and was rushing to catch the bus back to Scarborough. The driver told us we had to get the sand of our feet. The Tobagonian in our group told the driver "Aye, we working PTSC". The driver put the bus in gear and left us standing right there.
We had to walk. On our we sat by the side of the road and again our Tobago member was trying to hitch a ride in a bare back state. A car was coming and it slow down and stopped. The driver, a proper and well driven man came a berated the group for " ole nigger behavior ". And promptly DEMANDED that our Tobago group member put back on his shirt. And in departing he advised us, when coming to Tobago, we should leave our Trinidadian attitude when the boat past Toco.
By the way, remember the bus driver who left us stranded? Well, made his trip and met us again. "Allyuh clean now, come in"
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Forumites, we should not discount jumbie's account of his personal experience in Tobago. It is his experience. I have not been to Tobago in about 10 yrs. But in the early 70s, I spent memorable "august holidays" around Bacolet. That beach was mines. The people were nice. Yes they spoke different from Trinis.
But I remember some Tobagonian have a disdain for Trinis who came there with an attitude. I remember me and some PTSC buddies went there for a week and we left Pigeon Point beach and was rushing to catch the bus back to Scarborough. The driver told we had to get the sand of our feet. The Tobagonians in the group told the driver "Aye, we working PTSC". The driver put the bus in gear and left us standing right there".
We had to walk. On our we sat by the side of the road and again our Tobago member was trying to hitch a ride in a bare back state. A car was coming and it slow down and stopped. The driver, a proper and well driven man came a berated the group for " ole nigger behavior ". And promptly DEMANDED that our Tobago group member put back on his shirt. And in departing he advised us, when coming to Tobago, we should leave our Trinidadian attitude when the boat past Toco.
By the way, remember the bus driver who left us stranded? Well, made his trip and met us again. "Allyuh clean now, come in"
Nice story which seems to have more to do with Tobagonians having a bias against Trinidadians and even fellow Tobagonians with a bad attitude rather than having anything to do with nationality or one's race.
What I have observed over the years is that since Tobagonians have recognised that they have been earning a larger and larger share of their tourists dollars from visting Trinidadians is that their attitude towards visiting Trinidadians have generally improved a whole lot.
It is now at a stage where I generally find Tobagonians to be much friendlier than Trinidadians as someone who is a born Trinidadian. In fact Trinidadians can learn a lot from Tobagonians at this point about being more patriotic and protective towards our island.
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Forumites, we should not discount jumbie's account of his personal experience in Tobago. It is his experience. I have not been to Tobago in about 10 yrs. But in the early 70s, I spent memorable "august holidays" around Bacolet. That beach was mines. The people were nice. Yes they spoke different from Trinis.
But I remember some Tobagonian having a disdain for Trinis who came there with an attitude. I remember me and some PTSC buddies went there for a week, and we left Pigeon Point beach and was rushing to catch the bus back to Scarborough. The driver told us we had to get the sand of our feet. The Tobagonian in our group told the driver "Aye, we working PTSC". The driver put the bus in gear and left us standing right there.
We had to walk. On our we sat by the side of the road and again our Tobago member was trying to hitch a ride in a bare back state. A car was coming and it slow down and stopped. The driver, a proper and well driven man came a berated the group for " ole nigger behavior ". And promptly DEMANDED that our Tobago group member put back on his shirt. And in departing he advised us, when coming to Tobago, we should leave our Trinidadian attitude when the boat past Toco.
By the way, remember the bus driver who left us stranded? Well, made his trip and met us again. "Allyuh clean now, come in"
This was Jumbie's first comment. Seem as if he was expressing more than just a personal experience to me
first Indian (looking) to get good treatment in Bago. $$ talks!
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Forumites, we should not discount jumbie's account of his personal experience in Tobago. It is his experience. I have not been to Tobago in about 10 yrs. But in the early 70s, I spent memorable "august holidays" around Bacolet. That beach was mines. The people were nice. Yes they spoke different from Trinis.
But I remember some Tobagonian having a disdain for Trinis who came there with an attitude. I remember me and some PTSC buddies went there for a week, and we left Pigeon Point beach and was rushing to catch the bus back to Scarborough. The driver told us we had to get the sand of our feet. The Tobagonian in our group told the driver "Aye, we working PTSC". The driver put the bus in gear and left us standing right there.
We had to walk. On our we sat by the side of the road and again our Tobago member was trying to hitch a ride in a bare back state. A car was coming and it slow down and stopped. The driver, a proper and well driven man came a berated the group for " ole nigger behavior ". And promptly DEMANDED that our Tobago group member put back on his shirt. And in departing he advised us, when coming to Tobago, we should leave our Trinidadian attitude when the boat past Toco.
By the way, remember the bus driver who left us stranded? Well, made his trip and met us again. "Allyuh clean now, come in"
This was Jumbie's first comment. Seem as if he was expressing more than just a personal experience to me
first Indian (looking) to get good treatment in Bago. $$ talks!
As I said that is a very loaded statement bordering on trying to brand Tobago people as being racist against Indians.
No wonder Brownsugar reacted as she did.
first Indian (looking) to get good treatment in Bago. $$ talks!
From the heart of my Tobagonian bottom, you're a firetrucking idiot!!......
Jumbie cannot win this one. If he had any sense he would already have withdrawn his comment and apologized for trying to generally brand Tobago people as racist based on his own biased thinking.
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first Indian (looking) to get good treatment in Bago. $$ talks!
From the heart of my Tobagonian bottom, you're a firetrucking idiot!!......
And this is why you and I does get along, yuh not afraid to call bullshit for what it is. I watching people give this man a pass for his clearly offensive statement against Tobagonians and just shaking my head.
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and you said.. "I personally know of Afro-Trinis who received shabby treatment in Tobgo simply because they were not viewed by the locals as having loads of money to spend."
so you're saying the people of Tobago are?
my experience is MINES! spin how ever you want.
Your experience is yours, but you didn't say "first Indian I know of who get good treatment in Tobago"... you made it broader than that by implying such a thing has never happened before, not just in your experience, but ever. You are a f**king idiot... if nobody else have the guts to say it.
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and you said.. "I personally know of Afro-Trinis who received shabby treatment in Tobgo simply because they were not viewed by the locals as having loads of money to spend."
so you're saying the people of Tobago are?
my experience is MINES! spin how ever you want.
Your experience is yours, but you didn't say "first Indian I know of who get good treatment in Tobago"... you made it broader than that by implying such a thing has never happened before, not just in your experience, but ever. You are a f**king idiot... if nobody else have the guts to say it.
:beermug:
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Buccoo Estate acquired for $174 million
T&T Guardian Reports.
Government has purchased the controversial Buccoo Estate in Tobago, popularly known as No Man’s Land, for $174, 806,775 million.
The 398.42 acre property, which is listed as one of the CL Financial’s (CLF) assets, was sold earlier this year. Each acre was valued at US$65,000, bringing the total value of the secluded property to US$25,897,300.
In 2016, Clico carried on its balance sheet the value of the land at roughly $187 million. The transfer agreement was completed on March 2017.
However, at a press conference last week, Carlton Reis, who represents CL Financial shareholders under the group United Shareholders Ltd, had estimated the land at $500 million.
Clico Policyholders Group chairman Peter Permell, in a July 16 Sunday Guardian article, said a Project Rebirth report prepared by PricewaterhouseCoppers estimated the fair market value of the property at approximately $867 million.
The land will be offered to Sandals chairman Gordon “Butch” Stewart for the construction of two hotel resorts comprising 750 rooms.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley confirmed Government purchased the property at market value. He said an issue was raised recently about Government’s taking possession of the CLF assets, noting it was argued that what was on the books was not the real value and Government should have sought a valuation.
“But it was said that the lands we took in Tobago in lieu of the debt and set off against the debt might have been improperly done and the value might not have been established properly. Let me today put that to rest,” he said.
“The Government, quite properly, through the relevant authority in all of this, the board set off the monies owed for the value of those land. And the value was established by reputable independent valuators in Trinidad and Tobago. And that is the value at which the Government’s debt was reduced by virtue of the value of this land.”
The PM warned all those who have been saying the Government took possession of the land and paid “half X for it... nothing is further from the truth. The law requires that any disposal of assets under the Central Bank, as it is now holding assets for Clico…any disposal requires fair market value. And that is exactly what we got in that.
He said the valuation was based on an analysis of 100 per cent of the common stock of Occidental Investments Ltd and Oceanic Properties Ltd, owned by Clico.
Rowley said a lot of misinformation was being put out in the public domain by people who were unaware “but who are fuelling conspiracies and ascribing misconduct to the Government” was misleading.
“Those lands would have been acquired by the Government at full market value established by reputable valuators.”
Rowley left a copy of the valuation for the media’s perusal, but did not field questions about the land.
(http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/field/image/_No_Man_s_Land.jpg)
The Buccoo Estate in Tobago, popularly known as No Man's Land, which was purchased by government for $174, 806,775 million.
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Bridge to Tobago a good option
By Charles Kong Soo (Guardian).
Possible with China’s help, says ex-banker
With the current woes on the sea bridge between Trinidad and Tobago, coupled with a shaky air bridge which leaves Tobagonians and travellers alike marooned on a day to day basis, former Scotiabank managing director Richard Young says a bridge linking Toco to Tobago should be seriously considered and can be done without putting the country in debt.
During the run-up to the general elections on September 7, 2015, then prime minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar had suggested that a suspension bridge could be built from Toco to Tobago, but then Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley had countered that no amount of money in the western hemisphere and no engineering known to man could pay for or build such a bridge.
In recent times, however, Rowley has suggested that Government was now considering a port at Toco as another option to alleviating the issue. In fact, last week after Tobago House of Assemyl Minostiry leader Watson Duke staged his swim protest from Tobago to Trinidad, the PM noted that Duke’s journey had only bolstered Government’s argument for such a project.
But Young told the T&T Guardian that the real solution for the sea and air bridge woes was through a bridge, adding this feat can come from the East using Chinese technology, resources and funding.
Speaking from his office at the T&T International Financial Centre (TTIFC) at the International Waterfront Centre, Port-of- Spain, Young highlighted China’s multi-billion-dollar One Belt One Road Initiative (OBOR).
The Belt and Road initiative was proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, when he visited T&T and offered concessionary loans to not only this country but other Caribbean nations totalling approximately US$3 billion.
OBOR aims to link Asia with Europe, Africa and other countries around the world along ancient land-based and maritime trade routes through various trade and infrastructure projects.
Bridge not an impossibility
Describing himself as a private citizen, Young said, “Building a bridge to Tobago along 19 miles is not an impossibility, the cost may be prohibitive in the region of US$1.5 billion.
“But the Chinese have the technology, they have built bridges, highways, airports, new cities, artificial islands and train systems in China and other countries.”
He added: “I have travelled on the Donghai Bridge leaving Shanghai, one of the longest cross-sea bridges in the world with a total length of 20.2 miles (32.5 kilometres) of a six-lane highway leading to the offshore Yangshan Deep-Water Port.
“The port has an LNG regasification plant, over 700 gantries, is still expanding and there were more than 20 wind turbines generating electricity.”
He said if such a bridge was built here there would also be the opportunity to start getting involved in renewable energy.
Young said the bridge to Tobago could be modelled after the $730 million four-lane 67.2-km-long North-South toll highway in Jamaica, which links the capital Kingston in the South with the tourist city of Ocho Rios in the North. That bridge was built and funded by a Chinese company, China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), and has reduced a two-hour drive by less than half. He said CHEC took all the financial risks and in return Jamaica gave it a 50-year concession to recover its costs, by awarding it land alongside the highway for the same period of time to develop for residential and commercial use through the establishment of a resort hotel. He said the T&T Government could enter into similar public-private partnerships (PPP) with Chinese companies and businesses for a win-win situation.
Young said such a project had the potential to create an improvement in productivity and provide a stimulant to the economy of Tobago.
He said given the extensive investments made by the Chinese government and businesses in Latin America and the Caribbean, it would be easy to convince them to invest in such a project if they were given an incentive.
However, Young said one of the conditions for the joint venture was that there should be some form of local content, and while T&T had very formidable construction companies they had to make sure there was efficiency, productivity and value for money.
Senior lecturer in transportation engineering in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at The University of the West Indies’ St Augustine campus, Dr Trevor Townsend, says the most feasible transport method to Tobago in the shortest time frame for implementation and lowest capital investment was currently the ferry.
Expert — Ferry still best option
He said the proposal to create a physical land bridge from Toco to Tobago would require major capital investment, incur recurring expenditure, operating costs and demand in service will have to be determined whether such a project was feasible in the medium to long term.
Townsend said T&T’s ferry problems were not an insurmountable challenge, noting other Caribbean islands operated ferries and this country had been operating a ferry service since the 1900s, noting the current woes were more of a planning and procurement issue.
However, he said questions had to be answered as to why the country was in a position of crisis scrambling to get a boat to operate.
When asked if large, amphibious military transport planes can be used in the air bridge, Townsend said the distance between Trinidad and Tobago was too short and the country was not going to get economies of operation out of the use of such aircraft.
Inter-island Trailers and Truckers’ Association Horace Amede said a bridge linking Toco to Tobago could be done, but the cost of maintenance and the toll to travel on it had to be considered.
Tobago Chamber of Commerce president Demi John Cruickshank meanwhile said during former prime minister Patrick Manning’s tenure a feasibility study was done on a bridge proposal. He said Tobago cannot afford another ferry fiasco to ever happen again and he would welcome all discussions for a solution to Tobago’s sea bridge woes.
Former transport minister John Humphrey meanwhile said a bridge won’t be worthwhile because of the country’s relatively small population.
Noting that the US now owed China more than US$1 trillion, he said he was involved in several mega-projects with investment from two Chinese banks but they had insisted on transparency when dealing with various T&T governments that came into power.
Humphrey said a port in Toco that would have increased production and development in the area was promised by the NAR government but never materialised.
He said a port was also being considered when Sadiq Baksh was works minister in the United National Congress under Basdeo Panday and was a feasible idea because when a road is built to Toco all the land adjacent to that road is usable and the road should be designed to accommodate a settlement.
But Humphrey said a land bridge spanning from Toco to Tobago was not feasible. He said while in Jamaica you may have a lot of traffic to support the cost of that highway built by the Chinese there, you will not get that volume of traffic in T&T to justify financing such an expensive project.
Humphrey said plans were presented to the People’s Partnership government and prime minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar at the beginning of her term.
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If they can't manage the Caroni bridge or maintain the dry river, they go build a bridge from toco t o s'boro?
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Most feasible to me is a port at Toco. It should be supplemented by 2 roads. The existing road should be widened to accommodate the expected traffic. A toll road from Grande to Toco should also be built. Something like the NJ turnpike. The cost of this project maybe quarter of the price of the road from Toco to S'boro.
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Most feasible to me is a port at Toco. It should be supplemented by 2 roads. The existing road should be widened to accommodate the expected traffic. A toll road from Grande to Toco should also be built. Something like the NJ turnpike. The cost of this project maybe quarter of the price of the road from Toco to S'boro.
There is a plan to build a highway to Toco.......
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Most feasible to me is a port at Toco. It should be supplemented by 2 roads. The existing road should be widened to accommodate the expected traffic. A toll road from Grande to Toco should also be built. Something like the NJ turnpike. The cost of this project maybe quarter of the price of the road from Toco to S'boro.
There is a plan to build a highway to Toco.......
From Grande, l presume!
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Most feasible to me is a port at Toco. It should be supplemented by 2 roads. The existing road should be widened to accommodate the expected traffic. A toll road from Grande to Toco should also be built. Something like the NJ turnpike. The cost of this project maybe quarter of the price of the road from Toco to S'boro.
There is a plan to build a highway to Toco.......
From Grande, l presume!
Yup....that's the plan if I'm not mistaken....
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk
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thus guy us a moron. you can't build a bridge in deep water the Japanese have tried and failed. last election Kamla spoke about building a bridge to tobago and it was scuffed at because of the depth of waters between the islands its simply a bad idea.
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how deep is the water?
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how deep is the water?
Jumble, I honestly don't know. You know the bridge could well be built, but think about the operational and maintenance costs of the bridge. You know we have a good reputation when it comes to maintenance. The govt can't even manage wasa, ttech, petrotrin, cal, schools and civil servants, etc. Right now only China can build and maintain a structure like that.
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Was just curious about the depth since it was mentioned that it's too deep. Fully agree with you Deeks (management, maintenance etc).
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Was just curious about the depth since it was mentioned that it's too deep. Fully agree with you Deeks (management, maintenance etc).
http://www.fishtrack.com/fishing-charts/trinidad-and-tobago_100102
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Most feasible to me is a port at Toco. It should be supplemented by 2 roads. The existing road should be widened to accommodate the expected traffic. A toll road from Grande to Toco should also be built. Something like the NJ turnpike. The cost of this project maybe quarter of the price of the road from Toco to S'boro.
There is a plan to build a highway to Toco.......
From Grande, l presume!
Uuuuuuummmmm.....ah think so....
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk
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China unveils US$15Bn mega bridge
T&T Guardian Reports
By AKASH SAMAROO.
Engineering marvel could be answer to domestic travel woes in T&T
The idea of building a bridge over the Caribbean Sea to connect Trinidad with Tobago is not a new one.
However, it may not be one that the current administration is troubling itself with at the moment.
As Opposition Leader in 2015, Dr Keith Rowley said no amount of money in the Western Hemisphere and no engineering known to man could pay for or build such a bridge which would have to at least be 30 kilometres long.
Two years later, the Chinese Government is mere months away from opening such an engineering marvel in the Eastern Hemisphere. It’s called the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge.
The 55-kilometre roadway, reportedly the longest in the world, will connect three areas which were previously accessed by ferries, cutting down transportation time significantly.
In fact, according to Chinese officials, the journey between Zhuhai and Hong Kong will now be 30 minutes compared to the three hours it took by ferry. Construction started in 2009 over the Ling Ting Sea.
Guardian Media was given a tour of the yet to be opened causeway and officials were asked: “Can this be built over the Caribbean Sea?’”
While officials said they were unaware of the exact specifications of the water’s activity in that area they believe it can be done.
The officials also pointed out that the asphalt used to construct the roadway came from the Pitch Lake in Trinidad.
The project did come at a high price—around US$15 billion.
T&T could access some funding from the Chinese Government itself for a project of that magnitude. At a press conference in Guangdong Province, China’s strongest economic area, Deputy Director General of the Guangdong Department of Commerce, Wang Tao said one of the province’s proposals for strengthening ties with Latin America and the Caribbean would be to give more support from national funds for infrastructural development.
While he could not give an exact figure of how much funds are in that reserve he did say funding would be in the form of credit from China’s National Development Bank or its Import Export Bank.
A more precise figure was given by the Chinese President Xi Xinping, in 2013 when as part of his One Belt One Road Initiative, he announced that up to US$3 billion was available to Latin America and the Caribbean for projects like this.
The bridge will also be a toll road and those funds are expected to be used for maintenance.
There have been counter-arguments for such a project. Former Transport Minister John Humphrey told the T&T Guardian last month that a bridge would not be worthwhile because of the country’s small population while senior lecturer in transportation engineering in the Civil and Environmental Engineering department at the University of the West Indies’ St Augustine campus, Dr Trevor Townsend said it would require major capital investment and incur high recurring expenditure.
Both believed a ferry service was still the best option.
If T&T does decide to look into this option, it would be a costly venture that would require several years and immense manpower. However, given the inconsistencies with the existing ferry service on the seabridge, the answer in fixing the connection between two close land masses might lie in the Far East.
(http://www.guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/neoimages/718609.jpg)
Hong Kong -Zhuhai- Macao Bridge Photo by:Xinhua News Agency
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Impressive. Very impressive. But a ferry from Toco to S'Boro is the best option.
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I would be skeptical about a bridge for the simple reason that it requires long term planning...maturity and foresight.
That Chinese bridge started in 2009....basically straddling two elections and potentially two governments. AT 15 Billion the funding would either need to be in the form of a loan and such...and depending on who did it and when.....would have another set of row.
If it is done then it absolutely has to be a toll bridge. Then the water is another issue....I've heard the sea floor is another concern due to the plate margins.
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I presume that is 15 billion US. That is a lot of money. There are so many things that can be done with that kind of money, especially right now. The Chinese can do anything(beneficial or not) because it is a totalitarian country. Look at the opposition to the rapid rail in TT. Granted the PNM screwed that up themselves. In China, is off with your head, if you oppose govt policy. But it is damn impressive, I must say. But getting back to the ferry from Toco to S'Boro. 30 mins at least in good weather using a fast ferry. Building roads to Toco, a new port in Toco , improving the port in S'Boro, and acquiring 4 fast ferry may cost, maybe a, 2 to 3 billion. I think I am going overbudget here.
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I think our population is too small for that type of infrastructure, how many people will use it on a daily basis where we the revenue from the tolls will be worthwhile? Like Deeks said for that significant cost and state of the economy, there's a lot more pressing areas we can invest in.
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Cabinet gives green light for new $500 million Tobago airport terminal
cnc3.co.tt
Finance Minister Clm Imbert has announced that the Cabinet has agreed to begin the construction of a new terminal building for the ANR Robinson Airport in Tobago, by the end of this year.
It's expected to cost $500 million, but the acquisition of property is not included in that figure.
He made the announcement at today's post-Cabinet media conference.
While the current terminal building is located at the start of the runway, the new terminal will be located at the end of the runway.
Minister Imbert told the media that a new road will be built to connect Shirvan Road to the Claude Noel highway, to allow for easy access to all.
Work will also be done to ensure that the airport can access wide-bodied aircraft.
The construction will be done via a Build-Own-Lease-Transfer (BOLT) arrangement.
Minister Imbert said the deadline for awarding the contract will be around August 2018 and the construction must begin by the end of 2018.
The new airport terminal is expected to be completed before the end of the year 2019.
"We expect when this is finished, something long overdue in Tobago for many years will become a reality," the minister said.
"So many years, so many governments have spoken about a new terminal for Tobago. Well, this govt is going to do it," he ended.
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Seabridge woes cost Tobago businesses $750m.
By Rosemarie Sant (Guardian).
In the past year, Tobago businesses have suffered over $750 million in losses and the country has spent millions of dollars to fix the seabridge problem. But as of today the crisis continues and now, businesses are saying without a Government bailout or some sort of assistance there is no hope of recovery.
Business owners in Tobago yesterday told the T&T Guardian they now face the opposite problem to what they did in the period May to July last year. Back then they had problems getting goods to stock their shelves and some shelves were empty, but today they say their shelves are stocked “but the customers are just not there.”
Supermarket owners said “goods are now expiring on our hands.” In addition, they say it now makes no sense stocking freezers with meats and other cold products and warehouses are stocked with goods that are not being sold.
Business owners said the estimated $750 million in losses excludes businesses forced to close their doors or repossessed by the banks.
Scores of workers have also been sent home and with a growing unemployment and crime on the island, business owners say the time has come for Government “to step up to the plate.”
Several business owners said they are hoping Government will come up with a “viable bailout plan and get us back our credit rating because they have destroyed our credit rating.” They are advocating “compensation for losses suffered,” because they claim the banks are not extending any facilities to the business community and people continue to get foreclosure notices. They added that their credit rating is gone, they are “no longer bankable,” they are now experiencing a credit crunch and things continue to “look bleak because the economy has totally contracted.”
Even the conglomerates are affected.
ANSA McAL Group of Companies deputy chairman Andrew Sabga told the group’s annual stockbrokers meeting on Thursday, “The big problem is demand has significantly curbed because people are having problems getting to and from Tobago.”
Sabga said a “large portion of the consumption is tourists and non-Tobagonian arrivals.”
But despite the losses suffered by the Tobago business community, Tobago East Member of Parliament Ayanna Webster-Roy insisted in Parliament that all was well.
However, bed and breakfast owners say their businesses have declined and Hotel and Tourism Association president Chris James says Tobago had suffered massively and he expects the low occupancy levels which have plagued the island’s hotel sector to continue.
Newly-appointed Tobago Chamber chairman Claude Benoit said he was saddened by the situation, noting it had destroyed the confidence of people in Tobago.
“There is no credibility, people are not even thinking of coming to Tobago because they don’t know how they will get back and vice versa. The question is how long will it take to build back confidence in the system that they have destroyed? That is the main issue,” Benoit said.
Benoit said restoring confidence in the Tobago economy is “what will start to spur the economy for things to start happening. It is very serious and when you listen to others who say there are no problems in Tobago I don’t know.”
He said the Chamber had agreed to set up a team with the Tobago House of Assembly to help address the problems faced by the business community on the island. A report presented by economist Vanus James, he said, recommended that “we work with the THA and talk to the Minister of Finance to come up with the necessary funding to help the businesses.”
With banks no longer assisting businesses, he admitted there is an “urgency to the situation.”
As to the T&T Spirit not returning to the seabridge as promised yesterday, Benoit said he found it “alarming.”
“We are just hoping that those who are responsible just do their work and do it well so it could save the island going further down. Because can you imagine this now being Easter, this is one of the biggest holidays for the island and we don’t have a ferry to bring people here? It’s a very sad situation.”
Owner of Penny Savers Supermarkets Lloyd Warner said as a citizen, what has happened in the last year with the seabridge is an “insult for every Tobagonian, that’s an insult as far as I am concerned, treating people like this.”
He said the pain of what has happened is “so severe” that it needs to be dealt with immediately, “because I personally cannot look further than what is happening right now. Because that is the main thing.”
Warner said the seabridge was the “lifeline for Tobago, it is like someone telling you they will block off your nose and tell you to breathe, it is the main thing that is life.”
Responding to Webster-Roy’s position that no one in Tobago is suffering, Warner said, “Because we don’t protest by burning tyres and saying enough is enough, that says we are not suffering?”
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I need a quick Geography or Nautical lesson please. Or maybe I miss some info.
"THE Galleons Passage made it through the Panama Canal yesterday and began heading for Santiago de Cuba, but with heavy rainclouds hanging over it and fears that it might get caught smack bang in the middle of a developing storm in the Caribbean Sea.......Satellite tracking saw the boat at 6.30 am yesterday exiting the canal, then moving along the coast of Cacique, Colombia. It will sail for the next four days to get to Santiago, on the southeastern coast of Cuba.
.....
The Meteorological Office at Piarco confirmed the pattern of what is described as “bad weather” when the Galleons Passage passes between Jamaica and Haiti en route to Santiago de Cuba. However, it said there was a likelihood of the wind blowing northwards and the boat is likely to avoid most of the weather systems
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This boat come thru the Panama Canal.Along the coast of Colombia (where is Cacique anyway). Heading to Trinidad & Tobago. Why is it sailing North, past Jamaica to Cuba ? Instead of North East then east to T&T ? Is the next stop New York ?
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I need a quick Geography or Nautical lesson please. Or maybe I miss some info.
"THE Galleons Passage made it through the Panama Canal yesterday and began heading for Santiago de Cuba, but with heavy rainclouds hanging over it and fears that it might get caught smack bang in the middle of a developing storm in the Caribbean Sea.......Satellite tracking saw the boat at 6.30 am yesterday exiting the canal, then moving along the coast of Cacique, Colombia. It will sail for the next four days to get to Santiago, on the southeastern coast of Cuba.
.....
The Meteorological Office at Piarco confirmed the pattern of what is described as “bad weather” when the Galleons Passage passes between Jamaica and Haiti en route to Santiago de Cuba. However, it said there was a likelihood of the wind blowing northwards and the boat is likely to avoid most of the weather systems
"
This boat come thru the Panama Canal.Along the coast of Colombia (where is Cacique anyway). Heading to Trinidad & Tobago. Why is it sailing North, past Jamaica to Cuba ? Instead of North East then east to T&T ? Is the next stop New York ?
The ferry is due to undertake some work in Cuba before reaching here. Not sure why Cuba was chosen to undertake the work but that's what was stated by the Ministry.
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I hope while on the way to TT, it do not make a detour to pick up any foreign substances. I still think this a lot of bullshit. They should develop Toco. widen the friggin road. Build a port in Toco. All the money spent on them boat could have been used for that. From Scarboro to Toco is how much friggin miles.
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After such a long trip, ah lil R&R in order, that an a lil opposite sex boat, might make ah baby boat that may work our channel. On a serious note, we need to build and maintain our own ships, hire some ship builders to teach, we have engineers, we have welders, we have people.. dare we only capable of making pans ? Do we build and make stuff other than pepper sauce - yeah, yeah, is borse . We richer, yet we poorer. We modern, yet we ancient. We capable and fit, yet inefficient . What really is TT story.
Ah Ukraine crew on a Chinese boat, maintenance in Cuba. Ok.
Who operates the boat locally, who maintains, ah Nordic crew ? .. since this one getting about 20,000 between T&T trips out it system putt-putting round the Caribbean, by the time we actually make ah nudda 10000 between T&T, we go just buy another one ?
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Putt Putt Putt Putt Putt
http://www.looptt.com/content/govt-takes-decision-bring-galleons-passage-tt-immediately
then Sput Sput Sputt Sputte Sputter.., when probably hear then about a misunderstood clause in the contract..Good Luck T &T
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:whistling: :whistling:
https://newsday.co.tt/2018/09/02/galleons-fails-to-dock-bow-on/
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After such a long trip, ah lil R&R in order, that an a lil opposite sex boat, might make ah baby boat that may work our channel. On a serious note, we need to build and maintain our own ships, hire some ship builders to teach, we have engineers, we have welders, we have people.. dare we only capable of making pans ? Do we build and make stuff other than pepper sauce - yeah, yeah, is borse . We richer, yet we poorer. We modern, yet we ancient. We capable and fit, yet inefficient . What really is TT story.
Ah Ukraine crew on a Chinese boat, maintenance in Cuba. Ok.
Who operates the boat locally, who maintains, ah Nordic crew ? .. since this one getting about 20,000 between T&T trips out it system putt-putting round the Caribbean, by the time we actually make ah nudda 10000 between T&T, we go just buy another one ?
Purchase and all that running around the world..and now we doing test ?
Galleons makes 2nd run to Tobago
Kinnesha George
Herbert George, chairman of the National Infrastructure Development Company (NIDCO) is convinced that there is still some fine-tuning to be done before the Galleons Passage is put into service.
Yesterday, NIDCO officials sailed aboard the vessel to Tobago in what was considered its second test run to the island. The vessel departed Port of Spain at 7.41 am and arrived in Scarborough at 11.46 am.
For close to 45 minutes, the team aboard the vessel remained on the inside as Sunday Newsday observed officials attempting to get the ramp to line up with the ramp at the port compound.
Speaking with Sunday Newsday as he disembarked, George described the trial run was a success.
“I’m quite comfortable… as far as the vessel everything is fine.
“The ramp though, we have some tweaking to do to make it fit for all seasons; be it high tide or low tide, so we would be doing that in the next week and hopefully during that time we would be getting the necessary certificates and so from the Marine Services Department to be able to sail the vessel with passengers,” he said.
George said, as far as the mechanical functioning of the vessel, there were no problems as it was a smooth sailing to Tobago.
“We have some tweaking to do. As far as this ramp is concerned, we are going to make it wider so that the vessel can berth there much easier than it did today. Although today was a learning experience, I think we can make some adjustments and have it much easier,” he said. Members of the media were then invited inside for a tour of the vessel. Upon entering the vehicle ramp, George indicated that there were plans to install a canopy in that section, so as to prevent the sea spray from coming in onto the vehicles.
“The seller is responsible for that installation, he has had a lot of difficulties to get a vendor to do that work for him, he has gotten someone from Canada, they came and took the measurements and they have gone to fabricate the canopy to install it. They said the next three or so weeks, they would come with the material to have it installed,” he said.
George noted, however, that the installation would not delay the sailing of the vessel on the inter-island route.
As the team proceeded to the top deck, George said that the vessel would accommodate approximately 475 passengers in the first instance as the sun deck would not be used. He said NIDCO would continue to own and maintain the vessel, while it would be wet leased to the Port Authority.
George also touched on maintenance. “NIDCO has some capacity to maintain vessels, we have been doing that with the water taxis, but we recognise that this is not merely enough. So as part of the arrangement, we went out and we got an electrical engineer, a mechanical engineer and another kind of a maintenance manager to come in and he would set up the structure to maintain not only this one but all the vessels under NIDCO’s purview.”
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So as part of the arrangement, we went out and we got an electrical engineer, a mechanical engineer and another kind of a maintenance manager to come in and he would set up the structure to maintain not only this one but all the vessels under NIDCO’s purview.”
It hard to be believe a country like TT don't have them kind of engineers.
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So as part of the arrangement, we went out and we got an electrical engineer, a mechanical engineer and another kind of a maintenance manager to come in and he would set up the structure to maintain not only this one but all the vessels under NIDCO’s purview.”
It hard to be believe a country like TT don't have them kind of engineers.
Worse...engineer hardly do hands on these days, they mostly design and advise, so we have to go out and get some marine craft technichians as well. We couldn't go out and get One Marine engineer and hire enough young local technicians, that they will learn and develop along with the boats (old and new). Wait, I feel it have more expenses to come, irregardless of the new boat. Maybe they should go out and get a Marine accountant...no, wait, he might ketch we putting we hands in the till...best get a local padna to do that, oui :D
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:whistling: :whistling:
Duke: My pirogue will beat Galleons Passage ferry
Sean Douglas (Newsday)
WATSON DUKE will race a pirogue from Tobago to Trinidad to prove it can beat the ferry Galleons Passage, he vowed at a briefing yesterday.
The Public Services Association (PSA) leader was joined by maritime attorney Nyree Alfonso and dockers' unionist Michael Annisette.
In the wake of his famous partial swim from Tobago to Trinidad, Duke said in the ferry’s first week of service, he will travel by pirogue, change his clothes, then host a news briefing.
“We’ll show that a pirogue can travel the same route and reach faster than the Galleons Passage.”
Duke dubbed the ferry “a slow boat” travelling at 11 knots and taking six hours, slower than the current ferries Spirit and Express, which reach 30 knots and take 3.5 hours. He scoffed that rather than the buy the Galleons Passage, the Government should have spent those millions of dollars to buy pirogues for Tobagonians to travel to Trinidad.
Duke alleged the Government had changed its tune on the Galleons Passage’s specs: it was originally said to take 700 passengers and 100 cars, but now said to take just 400 passengers and no cars.
He alleged that for political reasons the Government had raced the boat to Tobago at a dangerously high speed of 22 knots, to do the trip in 4.5 hours.
Saying Tobagonians are not happy with the Tobago-born Prime Minister, Duke said, “You’ll get a surprise licking come 2020, because this (issue) is not going away.”
Alfonso scoffed at the government’s litigation against her as an effort to muzzle her that is doomed to fail and would in fact make her a wealthy attorney.
She alleged thee had no proper procurement of ferries in recent times, and alleged the Cabo Star should have been leased for about US$12,000 per day, but TT was overpaying this cost by US$10,000. She found it astounding Dr Rowley could just walk into a shipyard in Australia and start ordering ferries, as she challenged his maritime expertise to do so and whether he had first consulted local ferry users.
Alfonso also lamented that vessels from both shipbuilders Incat and Austal will be ordered, as this would incur two different sets of spare parts and technicians.
She asked which TT expert had visited China to okay the Galleons Passage as suitable for here. Alleging unsuitability for heavy seas, she said Austal vessels work in seas with a sea scale of five, but TT waters are sea scale six.
Alfonso said all six Coast Guard vessels bought by this government are now down.
She alleged TT is paying much more to lease its water taxis than Martinique and Guadeloupe paid for similar boats . Saying the Prime Minister had spoken of corruption around the Cabo Star and Ocean Flower II, she asked what had been done about this.
“One manager went to Panama and said, ‘This boat is not suitable,’ and he was fired for his candour.”
Alfonso accused the government of ignoring the need for the right specs for the new ferry but just rushing to get one before the next general election.
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more test necessary, send it back to China, via Cuba, via Panama canal..etc..etc..Tobago to damn far..Lawd..I know it was coming, but sonner than later smh
http://guardian.co.tt/news/galleons-passage-6.2.730837.dae32d134c
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Sandals’ pullout could be positive.
By Loyse Vincent (Guardian).
An expert in tourism intelligence and development says the failed Sandals deal can be an opportunity to change this country’s approach to tourism.
Dr Auliana Poon, Managing Director of Tourism Intelligence International, a leading international consultancy that has been operating for more than 25 years, said Tobago’s tourism stakeholders must let the world know “the island is open for business, but perhaps not open to Sandals business and not in that format.”
Tourism Intelligence International recently beat more than 20 competitors to land the contract to develop Dominica’s National Tourism Policy and Tourism Master Plan. The company contributed to the development of more than 100 destinations, including Abu Dhabi, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, the Bahamas, Barbados, Benin, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece and Hong Kong.
“When Sandals talks about the negative press for some people its negative press, but the independent traveller is happy that an independent destination is concerned about its environment . . . (and) wants to have transparency,” Poon said.
She said such travellers “would love to come to a country where people have a voice and have a say. So I say it’s( extremely positive depending on how you look at it.”
Poon, who runs Villa Being, a high-end tourism resort in Tobago, said of the 1.5 billion travellers globally, only two per cent travel to the Caribbean. If the destination could attract 100,000 of the 1.5 billion people who are more conscious and educated, those travellers would be interested that Tobago is concerned about the environment, she said.
She also said Tobago might not have been ready for a project of the magnitude proposed by the Government and Sandals.
“We need to rethink the strategy of just building the stuff and letting somebody else come to manage it. The real money is in the management. Do we have the management capabilities to run it?” Poon asked.
She suggested that the Caribbean send students to the top universities in Switzerland to study hotel management so that they can return to manage the islands’resources.
According to Poon, Sandals might not have been what Tobago needed at this point.
“Club Med invented this holiday where people descended on this village for sun, sand, sea and sex and what have you but where is Club Med today? Club Med had its day,” she said.
“The point I’m making is Sandals had 30 to 40 years of fantastic growth and development. I’m asking is this the end of the life cycle we jumping on to? Is it that Tobago is now trying to perfect the production of typewriters when everybody wants a computer? Is this the end of the line? Is this only thing? What is coming after that?”
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Silent majority wanted Sandals
By Corey Connelly (Newsday).
Tobago advocacy group on resort pullout
Farmers and small entrepreneurs were among the groups of Tobagonians eager to welcome Sandals International to Tobago before the resort chain decided last month against constructing a deluxe hotel on the island.
So claimed Kelvon Morris, spokesman of the newly-formed advocacy group Citizens In Support of Tobago Development.
"You would be surprised to hear the number of people that actually had projects in train geared towards benefiting from the Sandals experience," Morris said in a Sunday Newsday interview.
"Farmers, people invested in hatchery preparing for it. It is interesting when you go on the ground, people were excited about some of the activities that would have come from Sandals."
Saying he was surprised by the number of people who were excited about the project, Morris said the Sandals pullout highlighted the fact that many Tobagonians were not vociferous in their support of the project but chose to remain silent.
"We recognise that that silence would have been one of the reasons why the naysayers' voices were heard. But if you do a survey around Tobago, the majority of Tobagonians really wanted the project."
Morris admitted, however, a comprehensive survey was not undertaken to determine the extent to which Tobagonians supported the project. He said feedback was gauged "on the ground."
So why did he feel Tobagonians choose to remain silent?
"Tobagonians are naturally paid back. We are very reserved and normally keep most of our thoughts to ourselves. So, you would hear things and say, 'Why are Tobagonians not riling up?'
"They would have a view but would prefer to keep it to themselves."
Asked, then, if this posture would have worked against them if Sandals did set up business on the island, Morris said: "Behaviour once repeated often enough, tends to be changed. So, with Sandals, which is service-oriented, it would have brought that culture to the entire scenario."
He claimed those in the agriculture sector were ready to "change their mentality" with a view to embracing modern technology in farming.
During a news conference at the Office of the Prime Minister, St Clair, on January 15, Sandals Resort International CEO Gebhard Rainer said the company was no longer interested in constructing a hotel in Buccoo.
Rainer said the decision was prompted by "negative publicity" and "consistent badgering."
Sceptics also complained Government was not forthcoming in providing details about the project, especially in relation to its potential impact on the environment.
Morris, who works in the tourism sector, agreed negative publicity did play a part in the company's decision to sever ties with the project.
"When one wants to disrupt any kind of development, we know that the environment is the easiest claim and the voices that started to put up those kinds of challenges, with Sandals being an international, reputable brand, would not want to be tied up with that."
He added: "It was the posture of all those who were actually laying claim to challenging Sandals. I am sure they made a business decision that said they were not going to go through all that for a destination they hadn't been tried and tested in."
Morris said Citizens In Support of Tobago Development was essentially a response to the failure of Tobagonians to speak out about the benefits that could have been derived from a Sandals on the island.
"This (group) is really a clarion call to all that when there are positive developments on the island, that we all come out in support as early as possible so that we don't lose opportunities like that."
The group, comprising stakeholders from various sectors, includes former Tobago Chamber of Commerce president Demi John Cruickshank and others.
Morris said forging linkages with stakeholders was of paramount importance.
"One of the things we are looking to do going forward is really bringing together all of the stakeholders. We think that is important for the development of the island, so that when we speak about Tobago's development, we speak in one voice.
"Every institution that is integral to Tobago's development, so we would form alliances and have them involved in the discussion."
He said one of the group's priorities would be to hold discussions with youth-oriented organisations and other bodies "so that we can have a meshing of views and really have a clear synergy of where we want to go from here."
Saying Tobago has tremendous potential, Morris expressed confidence the island will bounce back from the Sandals pullout.
Morris said: "Tobago is an island destination with some of the best sites in the western hemisphere and it is just a matter for Tobagonians to be a little more open-minded to the kind of development required so we could move the tourism product forward."
"There is always an opportunity because people are always interested in the next best thing and Tobago provides that platform. In terms of direct foreign investment Tobago will always be attractive," he added.
During the launch of her Monday Mixer series at Milford Court, Bon Accord, Tobago West MP Shamfa Cudjoe declared she was "hard hit" by the Sandals withdrawal from the project, which would have elevated the island's profile as a tourist destination.
She said, however, there were several projects already on stream, geared toward boosting the island's tourist sector.
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We always have projects on stream that usually come to no avail. Sandals withdrawing is a big loss to our economy, it would've definitely increased our tourism profile and locals would've benefited. I've met a lot of people to claim they'll love to visit T&T but the reality is many of them had already been at Sandals in Jamaica or St. Lucia and I think their reputation and convenience for travelers has a lot to do with it.
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Imbert: Tobago airport project ‘well under way’
By Julien Neaves (Newsday).
FINANCE Minister Colm Imbert says the ANR Robinson International Airport terminal project is "well under way."
He was responding to a question in the House on Friday on whether the proposed construction of a new terminal building at the airport will progress in light of the collapse of the Sandals Resort project in Tobago.
Imbert said the construction of a new terminal and associated works at the airport in Tobago was never contingent on the Sandals project.
"This PNM Government clearly stated in its 2015 manifesto that the construction of a new world-class international airport in Tobago would be one of its priority projects. This has also been presented in our 2030 vision for the national development strategy for TT and was approved in this honourable House and in the other place since 2017."
He said with the increase in the number of international flights and passengers it became evident the existing terminal, constructed in 1953 which was last upgraded in the 1980s and then modified in 2016, had been outgrown by the international traffic and did not meet all necessary international aviation standards.
"As a responsible and futuristic government we are going to build the new modern state-of-the-art terminal with a capacity of three million passengers in its first phase of development."
He said the current terminal will be upgraded to existing service level and expand cargo operations. Imbert reported the request for proposals for the building contractor, the main contractor, will close in the first week of March. He also reported the land acquisition consultants and cadastral surveyors were already hard at work and financing was being sourced from the Andean Development Bank CAF as an optional source of funding.
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Canada flight boosts arrivals by 90 per cent
By Elizabeth Gonzales (Newsday).
THE Tobago Tourism Agency is reporting a 90 per cent increase in international arrivals over the past few months, owing to the weekly Sunwing Airlines flights. This has resulted in a 5.2 per cent growth of international arrivals to Tobago from December 2018 to January 2019.
In a release on Wednesday, the agency said between January 1 and February 21 Sunwing recorded a flight capacity of over 90 per cent on its Toronto, Canada flights. Sunwing’s Boeing 737, which has a capacity of 189 passengers, has since made ten trips to Tobago since its initial flight from the Toronto Pearson International Airport to the ANR Robinson Airport in December last year.
The agency said, “The airline is responsible for bringing 1,399 passengers to Tobago with an average flight capacity of 74 per cent. The airline also has an excellent stay over ratio with an average of 94 per cent or 1,315 passengers staying over on the island. In January, 522 visitors from the Sunwing flight stayed in tourism accommodations on the island and had an average length of stay of nine days.”
However, Chris James, president of the Tobago Hotel and Tourism Association, which represents over 1,000 rooms throughout Tobago, said the visitor arrivals in 2019 have not improved. He told Newsday for the first two months of 2019 it has seen a slight increase in international arrivals, mainly because of Sunwing flight from Toronto, Canada. The association also reported a continuous decline in domestic arrivals.
James said, “19,400 visitor arrivals were reported in 2017, the figures in 2018 are approximately the same.”
He added, “The average occupancy for hotels in 2018 was 30 per cent and guest houses 23 per cent, it is too early to say what the average will be for the whole year of 2019. For January and February 2019, the average occupancy for hotels is 37 per cent and guest houses 22 per cent, which is similar to the first two months of 2018.”
The island welcomed 29 cruise ship calls for the 2019 season; this is 27 less than last year which stood at 56 cruise ship visits, Newsday was told. Chris said the increase in cruise ship arrivals last year was exclusively because of the damages to other islands caused by the hurricane disaster.
Although he was unable to give figures for Easter and Tobago Jazz Experience seasons, he reported a slight pick-up after Carnival. He said this increase after Carnival depends on the availability of the air and seabridge.
Some members of the hotel association told Newsday the association is concerned that there is no representation for it on the tourism agency board. The members also complained they were not given the opportunity to be actively involved in agency’s decision making. They also expressed disapproval with the operations of the agency since it was established 18 months ago.
James said, “Yes, I have heard the comments as well, it is true we have had much less collaboration, interaction than we had with TDC (Tourism Development Company) or TIDCO (Tourism and Industrial Development Company) but we do speak to the CEO (Louis Lewis) of TTA.”
“The agency is not working with us as we would have wished, but we are where we are, we will continue to work on behalf of our members as best we can; we as an association have our own marketing campaigns through our marketing committee, we are getting ready to launch our tourism enhancement fund so that we can increase our own marketing initiatives.”
The hotel association is waiting on a meeting with the tourism agency for an update on what the agency has achieved through its Road Map to Growth arrangement. The roadmap was presented in May 2018.
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Malta ferry gets nod for seabridge.
By Renuka Singh (Guardian).
The proposal for the lease of the Jean De La Valette (JDLV) as a temporary inter-island ferry to ease up the seabridge woes is already before Cabinet.
During an interview with Guardian Media last Friday, Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan said the new vessel, currently scheduled to arrive by the end of May, will replace the limping T&T Express, which Government plans to sell, until two new ferries arrive in T&T next year. However, he dismissed suggestions this news was new, adding he had raised it in Parliament ‘about a month ago’.
Yesterday, National Infrastructure Development Company of T&T (Nidco) chairman Herbert George confirmed that Nidco had recommended the temporary lease of the ten-year old Jean De La Valette, sourced from Malta, to service the seabridge between Trinidad and Tobago and the issue was still before Cabinet.
Guardian Media received two documents yesterday, including the ten-page recommendation made by Nidco to lease the vessel and a letter from Port Authority chairman Lyle Alexander informing Sinanan that he was accompanying George to Malta to check out the charter-hire vessel.
According to the letter, both George and Alexander were in Malta between February 23 and March 2, 2019, to check out the Jean De La Valette.
According to the Nidco recommendation, it held an “open international tendering” process and received proposals from three companies.
“The submission from Virtu Ferries was adjudged the best in terms of age of vessel, speed and payload RoPax (roll on/roll off passenger) capacity,” Nidco said.
According to the recommendation, the JDLV was dry-docked on March 10 and “this will also facilitate its preparation for delivery to Trinidad for the time charter.”
The ferry, once retained by Nidco, will be maintained and crewed by Malta.
“Virtu Ferries has quoted their daily charter rate in terms of a 12-hour work day, beyond which overtime payments will accrue. We sought clarification on this basis of charging, since the present scheduling of the seabridge will result in a longer than 12-hour work day for the crew,” the Nidco letter stated.
“The time charterer will work with Virtu Ferries to honour the 12-hour work day and is assured by Virtu Ferries of its flexibility and cooperation.”
The JDLV has an upper deck that provides general accommodation to 680 of the 800 authorised passenger carrying capacity. The remaining 120 passengers can be accommodated in the upper bridge deck. The ferry will also not use the Trinidad and Tobago flag but will continue to fly the Republic of Malta flag.
According to the document, the ten-year old vessel will be leased from Virtu Ferries for a period of one year, until the two new vessels from Incat and Austal arrive to permanently service the seabridge in 2020.
Although seabridge woes have not been in the news recently, just one year ago it was a much different story. Last year, inter-island travel was heavily dependent on the airbridge because sea transport was sporadic. At one point last year, the PATT also used the water taxi to help service passengers back and forth from Trinidad and Tobago until that boat shut down in the middle of the islands on March 27, 2018. The arrival of the US$17.4 million Galleons Passage boasted the service and Sinanan said Friday this vessel had been doing its job.
Seabridge woes
January 25, 2017: Intercontinental Shipping Ltd (ICSL), owners of the Super Fast Galicia, announce plans to withdraw the vessel from service on the seabridge.
April 21, 2017: The Superfast Galicia leaves T&T with no replacement vessel to fill the gap on the seabridge.
June 2017: The T&T Spirit is dry docked leaving the T&T Express as the only passenger ferry on the route
July 1, 2017: The Cabo Star and Ocean Flower II are leased from Bridgemans Service Group of Canada to provide passenger and cargo services on the seabridge
August 9, 2017: Contract with the Ocean Flower TT is cancelled.
January 20, 2018: Finance Minister Colm Imbert announces that Government is taking delivery of the new US$17.4 million catamaran Galleon’s Passage, a vessel is owned by Sea Transport Corporation of Australia and built at the Nansha Shipyard in Guangzhou, China.
February 2018: The T&T Express—the lone fast ferry operating on the sea bridge— is pulled from the route “in the interest of public safety.”
February 27, 2018: Galleons Passage sets sail from Bonny Fair Shipyard in Nansha, China, en route to Hong Kong, then Honolulu, Panama Canal, Santiago de Cuba and Port-of-Spain.
March 13-22, 2018: Port Authority of T&T (PATT) makes arrangements with Caribbean Airlines (CAL) to transport passengers with confirmed ferry tickets between T&T.
April 2018: The T&T Spirit returns to the seabridge.
May 29, 2018: Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley announces that during his visits to China and Australia he met with Australian companies INCAT and Austal to discuss the possibility of purchasing vessels.
July, 2018: The Galleons Passage arrives in Trinidad but is not put into service as it has to undergo some retrofitting.
October 2018: The Galleons Passage begins operating on the seabridge.
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Tobago anxious about PM’s plan to fix economy.
By Camille McEachnie (Guardian).
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley’s latest statements on his Government’s steps to mend Tobago’s economy are causing anxiety among many stakeholders on the island. However, while they rejoiced at some of Government’s plans yesterday, they said the majority of the measures do not address the situation in the short term.
Over the last couple of years, the island’s economy has faced challenges, with the seabridge woes deepening the problems.
In an interview on a wide range of topics with host Hema Ramkissoon on CNC3’s Morning Brew yesterday, Rowley said Tobago’s economy is “plodding along...and the Government is taking steps to fix it.”
Addressing the issues, he said the Government is taking steps to “generate greater economic activity” on the island by building infrastructure, improving human capital and encouraging investment in all sectors.
In an obvious reference to the failed Sandals Resorts deal and the need to attract more tourism to the island, Rowley said: “Unfortunately, one of the actions we thought would have given assistance as a stimulant is no longer available to us.”
Addressing tourism-related issues further, he said Evolving Technologies and Enterprises Development Company Limited (e Teck) is seeking to find a company to market the Magdalena Grand Beach and Golf Resort “which is a money-losing hotel.”
“The Government was approached by a new company, the Sunwing Company, which has its own airlift and the THA (Tobago House of Assembly) is out encouraging (businesses to invest),” the PM said.
However, noting plans to expand the ANR Robinson International Airport, he said the Government needs islanders to help bring about change in the economy.
“While we are working towards that (expansion of the ANR Robinson’s International Airport) I am seeing disturbances and people saying they are organising themselves, political responses. We (Tobagonians) just have to be a little less cantankerous.”
He also said the island’s situation is not as bad as perceived.
“Tobago has Trinidad to start with, most other Caribbean islands don’t have a big sister with one million people. Tobago should start by encouraging Trinidadians to use Tobago, for what Tobago is; a place for relaxation, a place to invest.”
In an immediate reaction, Tobago Hotel and Tourism Association (THTA) president Chris James agreed with Rowley that Trinidad is very important to Tobago’s tourism industry.
“THTA also agrees that destination marketing is critical and should be increased in both our domestic and international originating markets,” James said.
He added: “The industry in Tobago is in a catch 22 situation. We hear calls for the upgrading of product but with such low arrivals and low occupancy the money is just not available for many to consider undertaking more debt.”
He said Caribbean Airlines (CAL) is doing its best to help but the THTA was “eagerly awaiting the announcement of the wet lease for the airbridge.”
In 2017, James told members of a Joint Select Committee (JSC) that staff in the tourism industry were working three-day work shifts and many tourism stakeholders could not pay their bills. Last year, the tourism sector - the island’s second largest contributor to its Gross Domestic Product (GDP)—took another beating as the seabridge crashed.
Tobago Unique Bed and Breakfast & Self Catering Association president Kaye Trotman expressed similar sentiments to James. “We are in favour with the general trend of the discussion but those are for the medium term impact...we have Easter and Jazz coming up and we are not sure what the travel between the islands will be like.”
She said the association agrees with Rowley that more marketing has to be done.
“However, the comment (from travellers) is always how do we get to Tobago? The PM is certainly on the right trend but our challenge has always been what do we do now,” Trotman said.
Truckers and Traders Association president Horace Ameade meanwhile said the association is hopeful the existing situation can change. “We heard these words in 2016 when the Prime Minister met with us in Tobago, let’s hope we can see them brought to fruition,” Ameade said.
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Tobago airport project presses on
By Kinnesha George-Harry (Newsday).
Despite lingering concerns among Crown Point residents about the Government’s proposed expansion of the Arthur NR International Airport, Tobago, the mega project is proceeding full speed ahead.
National Infrastructure Development Company (Nidco) project manager Onika Morris-Alleyne revealed on Friday the project is expected to begin next month with an estimated completion time of December 2020.
“We are now at the stage where we are ready to begin the land surveys and studies that need to happen, and to begin the detailed design of the project, that would be kicking off in May 2019,” she told residents on Friday during a public forum hosted by Nidco at Rovanel’s Resort, Store Bay Local Road, Crown Point.
Morris-Alleyne said evaluation work on the lands under consideration and upgrade of the existing terminal is expected to begin in July.
She added the construction of the new main terminal is scheduled to begin in November.
“The intention is to complete the new terminal for operation by the end of December 2020,” she said.
The meeting, attended by close to 100 residents, provided information about the project in relation to land acquisition and social and environmental impact.
Morris-Alleyne, who provided details about aspects of the project, said the intention is to construct a new passenger terminal for both domestic and international operations east of the existing air traffic control tower.
This, she said, would be designed to accommodate a capacity of three million passengers.
“The capacity of the existing airport is one million passengers. So, the design of the new airport would allow for a sustainable development and also future expansions, so we can increase capacity as we go along.”
She said the project would be undertaken in two phases; construction of a new terminal building and associated works and construction of a new airport access road.
“The new terminal building and associated works… the site is roughly bounded by Gaskin Bay Road to the east, the existing airport runway to the south, old Store Bay Road to the north and roughly the existing airport perimeter fence line, which is near to the MET office going north on the Western side,” said Morris-Alleyne.
“The building is going to be designed in a “Z” shape with an international wing and a domestic wing. The airport is being developed by a design, finance, construct contractor, which means that the contractor would design the works, finance the works and construct the works to b e repaid over a period of time.”
Nidco's vice president of engineering and programme management Steve Garibsingh explained to residents the results of social surveys conducted by ACQ and Associates between February 18 and March 30 in Crown Point.
Saying social surveys are an essential part of the land acquisition process, Garibsingh said they are used to identify persons living in or having some interest in a property and determine how they can be impacted by the acquisition.
“The impacts because of acquisition is really a difficult thing… mentally, emotionally, it’s stressful,” he said.
“We really would like to develop a policy that would assist those individuals that need that type of assistance to relocate as easily as possible.”
Garibsingh added: “We identified 92 parcels over the 53 acres that ought to be acquired. We were able to interview 79 of the persons who had interest in these parcels, so more or less, we were able to obtain data from three quarters of the affected population.
“Eleven persons declined to provide any information at all, and we were not able to locate ten persons, while three persons stated that we should seek information from their representatives.”
He said section three legal notices were issued to all landowners.
“That is simply telling the land owner that we are likely to acquire your property for a public purpose. It allows the State to enter onto your property to conduct surveys and studies,” he said
“Once approved by Cabinet, the notice is published in the Trinidad and Tobago Gazette, it is then served within seven working days of publication in the Gazette. The notices are also posted twice in the daily newspapers and I want to emphasise that the notice is not an eviction notice,” he said.
Having completed the surveys and studies, Garibsingh said the next step would be the publication of the Section Four legal notice, which allows the state to enter the property and take possession of it.
“A section four notice cannot be served before two months has elapsed after publication of the section three notice… once that section four is published, the Commissioner of State Lands is inclined to invite the affected persons, the land owners to submit their valuation and claims,” he said.
Garibsingh said in the negotiation stage, the owner may apply for up to 80 per cent of the Commissioner of Valuations estimate, prior to agreement, after which, upon settlement, the landowner can submit claim for the outstanding 20 per cent balance of the compensation.
He said after this is done the landowner will have to vacate the property so that the State can come in and do the construction.
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i know i misunderstanding something here, but ah fraid to ask
https://newsday.co.tt/2019/05/09/ferry-dry-docked-in-spain/
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The Tobago airport project to cost $1.2 billion.
CCN TV6.
Government is to spend a total of $1.2 billion constructing a new airport terminal in Tobago, upgrading the existing Arthur NR Robinson terminal there and paying tenants to acquire their land.
Finance Minister Colm Imbert made this disclosure at the contract signing ceremony at the Tobago airport on Tuesday.
The construction work has been awarded to China Railway Construction Caribbean Ltd.
https://www.facebook.com/CCNTV6/videos/180205279864001/
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Tobago woman set on fire.
By CASANDRA THOMPSON-FORBES (Guardian).
A 19 year old woman was airlifted to Trinidad, after she was allegedly set on fire by unknown men, on Tuesday night.
She was found near Kilgwyn Bay, near the Apex Restaurant and Bar.
The victim has been identified as Allena Dial of Riseland Trace, Carnbee, a kitchen assistant employed with the Tristar Restaurant.
According to police reports the incident occurred shortly before 9pm on Tuesday.
Guardian Media understands that the woman told police she was at an area near Kilgwyn Bay, when two unknown men doused her with a flammable substance and set her on fire.
We are told that the woman ran to the Apex Restaurant for assistance. An EHS ambulance was called and she was rushed to the Scarborough General Hospital for treatment.
The woman suffered third degree burns to her face and upper body. She also had received a stab wound to her left forearm, and cuts to her forehead and neck.
She was airlifted to Trinidad during the early hours on Wednesday morning.
She is said to be in a critical condition at the Mt. Hope Hospital.
Crown Point Police are continuing investigations.
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Tobago cop to sue Griffith over promotions.
By Derek Achong (Guardian).
A senior police officer from Tobago has been given the green light to sue Police Commissioner Gary Griffith over his handling of promotions to the rank of Superintendent.
High Court Judge Eleanor Donaldson-Honeywell yesterday granted acting Senior Supt Collis Hazel, of Roxborough, Tobago, leave to pursue his judicial review case against Griffith.
In the lawsuit, Hazel, who joined the T&T Police Service (TTPS) in 1991, claimed that after passing the promotion examination and interview with the Promotion Advisory Board, he was placed at number 46 on a merit list.
On September 4, 2018, the first 45 officers were promoted.
Hazel claims that although Griffith agreed to extend the life of the merit list to September 3, 2020, he subsequently revoked his decision.
In the lawsuit, Hazel, who has been given acting appointments, is claiming that Griffith’s decision was unreasonable as it was done without any warning or consultation. Hazel is also contending that the issue has affected several other senior officers, who are similarly circumstanced.
Hazel is seeking a declaration that he has been treated unfairly and an order directing Griffith to provide written reasons for the sudden decision to revoke the list.
He is also seeking an order to quash the decision and declare it illegal, null and void and of no legal effect.
Hazel is being represented by Anand Ramlogan, SC, Alvin Pariagsingh, and Alana Rambaran.
The lawsuit is expected to come up for hearing within the next two months.
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Pigeon Point named in world’s 50 best beaches
By Julien Neaves (Newsday)
Tourism Minister Randall Mitchell said he was not surprised Pigeon Point was named in the world's 50 best beaches by international monthly magazine Marie Claire.
“The high ranking of Pigeon Point Beach as one of the world’s most exotic and beautiful beaches comes as no surprise to me or to any of us in the tourism sector," he said.
In a recent article on marieclaire.com Pigeon Point was listed eighth in the 50 best beaches in the world, though the article did not state there was a ranking of the beaches. The caption read "Even the palm trees in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago are relaxed."
Mitchell in a message to Newsday said that Pigeon Point is "certainly regarded as the most iconic and beautiful in all of Trinidad and Tobago. And there is more beauty still to behold in the other idyllic, serene, and peaceful beaches in the undiscovered paradise that is Tobago. Englishman’s bay, Back bay, Pirate’s Bay, Speyside, Castara to name a few."
He said together with the Tobago House of Assembly and the Tobago Tourism Agency Government is actively trying to attract more and more visitors to experience the awesome beauty that lies in Tobago.
"To do that means we must work on airlift and offer a welcoming and an uncomplicated business environment to those integrated hotel operators wishing to set up in Tobago.
"Such as Apple Leisure Group and the Sunwing Group who all are integrated with the airlift required to bring visitors to our shores. We are excited by the interest and commitment by those huge tourism players." He added: "It is unfortunate the circumstances of the Sandals withdrawal as they too had a tremendous pulling power to draw visitors to experiences the beautiful paradise that we are fortunate to call home."
The marieclaire.com list included beaches from Florida and California in the US, Greece, Cambodia, Seychelles, Philippines, Indonesia, Mexico, Spain and there were seven other Caribbean beaches: Shoal Bay East, Anguilla; Eagle Beach, Aruba; Harrismith Beach, Barbados; Cas Abao, Curaçao; Seven Mile Beach, Grand Caymans; Reduit Beach, St Lucia; and Trunk Bay, St John, US Virgin Islands.
In July 2017, Pigeon Point Beach was ranked 98 of the world's 100 best beaches by CNN.com. The website said "Pigeon Point is a literal representation of the Caribbean beach ideal, right down to the charming old lady who sells soursop ice cream by the pound" and described the highlight as the thatched-roofed jetty "possibly the most photographed jetty in the world".
Pigeon Point Beach is also rated 4.5 from 1,222 reviews on Tripadvisor.com and number 17 of 174 things to do in Tobago.
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Imbert confident THA can repay $300m bond
By JULIEN NEAVES (NEWSDAY).
Finance Minister Colm Imbert said he has confidence that the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) can repay a $300 million bond.
He was responding to a question in the Senate on Tuesday from Opposition Senator Wade Mark. Imbert was asked what mechanisms will be used to ensure proper accountability with Government's decision to grant approval to the THA to borrow money on the local market to finance developmental activity.
He said Cabinet's approval was sought and obtained in September 2019 for the THA to issue a bond on the domestic market in the amount of $300 million for capital works.
"The Ministry of Finance intends to work closely with the THA in executing this bond with a focus on reviewing the documentation and ensuring that the terms and conditions agreed upon are in accordance with the wider public sector debt portfolio."
He reported the THA has established a prudential borrowing limit restricting financing repayments to five per cent of the current expenditure for the fiscal year.
"The Ministry of Finance will seek to ensure that the funds are utilised for agreed projects in particular development projects that are of greatest benefit to residents of Tobago and the wider public."
He said the ministry will also monitor the administration of the bond once issued to ensure that all debt service payments are made on time and as agreed.
Mark asked if the Government will be guaranteeing these loans and Imbert replied "no". Mark then asked how the loans would be repaid but Senate President Christine Kangaloo said that question did not arise.
Imbert said the loans would be repaid from current funds.
Mark asked if Imbert was satisfied in the absence of any audited accounts since 2007 by the THA whether he was confident the assembly has the ability to engage in this exercise.
Imbert said he does not believe the statement about audited financial accounts is correct but is "grossly inaccurate" and he is confident.
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Teen girls shot after $2.5m Tobago mall robbery
BY KINNESHA GEORGE (NEWSDAY).
Two form two female students from the same secondary school are being treated for gunshot wounds after police had a shoot-out with bandits who robbed a jewellery store at Lowlands Mall on Monday.
The teens were allegedly in the getaway vehicle which was intercepted by a police roadblock at Union village.
Two men are currently assisting police in their investigations into the $2.5 million jewellery heist.
Police sources told Newsday that around 12.39 pm on Monday, gunmen dressed in Muslim garb entered Caribbean Jewellers Ltd at the popular mall, held up the sales personnel and robbed them of jewellery. Shortly after, police received information about a gold Almera car that was involved in the robbery.
Newsday understands a roadblock was set up and police spotted a gold Almera approaching. Police say they were shot at and returned fire but the vehicle escaped through the roadblock and sped off.
Police gave chase and found the vehicle crashed into a utility pole further along the Union Road with one of the teens inside. They then set up a dragnet and two males from Golden Lane and Pump Mill were held at various points in the area.
There were initial reports that one of the suspects walked into the Scarborough Police Station on Monday evening and surrendered.
The officers said the driver of the getaway car escaped and they believe he is injured. They have alerted hospitals and health centres to look out for anyone seeking treatment for gunshot wounds.
Police said they found jewellery and Muslim apparel in the car.
A 14-year-old female form two student from Bagatelle was also found in the car with a gunshot wound to the head. She was taken to the Scarborough hospital then transferred to the Mt Hope hospital. Shortly after, another form two student, who attends the same school as the injured teen, went to the Scarborough Hospital with a gunshot wound to the hand. The Golden Lane teen was treated and is now under police guard at the hospital. Investigations are continuing.
One employee in a store next to Caribbean Jewellers told Newsday no one was aware a robbery was taking place until an alarm was raised after. Expressing shock, the employee said mall employees were traumatised, as she called for increased security patrols along with the installation of metal scanners at the various entrances to assist with detecting criminal elements operating inside the mall.
In a press release on Tuesday Chief Secretary and Secretary of Education Kelvin Charles said he was deeply saddened by the incident and even more concerned for the welfare of the students and their families. Charles urged students to be vigilant about their surroundings as well as the friends they keep.
“I really want to encourage the youth to be very cautious in these times. They are living at a time that calls for great responsibility. It is a time when their decisions can have serious implications for their lives,” Charles said.
He encouraged all students to adhere to the guidelines and instructions of their teachers, principals and the policies of their schools, noting that the division is currently awaiting further details surrounding the incident.
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This is also a fit for the child abuse thread. Human shields? Relatives? Why were they in the car?
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Tobago wants $4.71b from Central Government
ELIZABETH GONZALES (NEWSDAY)
The Tobago House of Assembly (THA) is asking for $4.71 billion in its 2021 budget presentation.
This includes funding for development programmes and recurrent estimates as well as provisions for Community-Based Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programme (Cepep) and Unemployment Relief Programme (URP).
Secretary for the Division of Finance and the Economy Joel Jack made the budget presentation on Monday morning.
For 2021 total tax revenues are estimated $197.2 million. The total estimated revenue is $198.3 million.
Last year the THA requested $4.72 billion from Central Government – $3.26 billion for recurrent expenditure and $1.45 billion for the development programme. The island received $2.229 billion at the national budget – $1.97 billion for recurrent expenditure, $231.63 million for capital expenditure and $18 million for URP.
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Secretary of Finance and Economy Joel Jack. PHOTO COURTESY THA -
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Tobago COVID patient alleges 8-hour wait for bed
Story by CAMILLE McEACHNIE (Guardian).
A man who tested positive for COVID-19 alleges he waited over eight hours for a bed, at the old Scarborough General Hospital COVID facility at Fort King George, on Sunday.
The man said he and his mother arrived at the facility at 4 pm. However, his mother was given a bed, but he waited in the corridor on a hard, plastic chair for 8 hours.
Guardian Media kept vigil with the man, who threatened to run away from the establishment.
"I so frustrated now that after talking to many doctors and nurses, I feel to just leave here now. I here so long now," he told Guardian Media at 11 pm.
One hour later, he showed Guardian Media where a bed was placed for him in the facility.
It was neatly made and appeared to be in front of a reception area.
Guardian Media understands officials at the Division of Health, Wellness, and Family Development are investigating the matter.
One official told us: "We (Health Division) have all the information in the public domain and... would provide the media with an update."
The Division's last release indicated that 17 persons tested positive for the virus, with 13 being active cases.
The August 15 release said five additional persons had tested positive for the virus. Three are primary contacts of a COVID-19 patient, and two are under investigation.
The Division reminds persons to wash hands properly, wear masks, cover coughs and sneezes with bent elbows and tissues, and avoid persons with symptoms of the virus.
Also, citizens are reminded to sanitize surfaces regularly touched and practice social distancing.
If you fall ill, the Division advises that you call the hotline at 800-HEAL (4325).
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Police: Stolen sheep, goats from Mayaro may be in Tobago
LAUREL V WILLIAMS (NEWSDAY).
The 38 sheep and 18 goats stolen from a Mayaro breeding unit between late Saturday night and early Sunday are believed to have been taken to Tobago.
Police said they were told the thieves loaded the animals on a boat and headed to Tobago.
Tobago police have been contacted and are on the lookout for the animals.
Police said the animals were taken from the Agriculture, Land and Fisheries Ministry unit at Guayaguayare Mayaro Road in Stone Bright Village, a mere 100 metres from Indian Bay beach.
They got a report of the theft on Sunday.
Up to Monday, investigators were unable to say how much the stolen animals were worth.
No one has been arrested. Mayaro police are investigating.
The theft is the latest in a series.
Last week, a 72-year-old La Romaine farmer reported that thieves stole 21 goats from him.
The perpetrators remain at large and San Fernando police are investigating.
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BWTF
Like somebody was getting paid a "political dowery?"
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Tobago COVID patient alleges 8-hour wait for bed
Story by CAMILLE McEACHNIE (Guardian).
A man who tested positive for COVID-19 alleges he waited over eight hours for a bed, at the old Scarborough General Hospital COVID facility at Fort King George, on Sunday.
The man said he and his mother arrived at the facility at 4 pm. However, his mother was given a bed, but he waited in the corridor on a hard, plastic chair for 8 hours.
Guardian Media kept vigil with the man, who threatened to run away from the establishment.
"I so frustrated now that after talking to many doctors and nurses, I feel to just leave here now. I here so long now," he told Guardian Media at 11 pm.
One hour later, he showed Guardian Media where a bed was placed for him in the facility.
It was neatly made and appeared to be in front of a reception area.
Guardian Media understands officials at the Division of Health, Wellness, and Family Development are investigating the matter.
One official told us: "We (Health Division) have all the information in the public domain and... would provide the media with an update."
The Division's last release indicated that 17 persons tested positive for the virus, with 13 being active cases.
The August 15 release said five additional persons had tested positive for the virus. Three are primary contacts of a COVID-19 patient, and two are under investigation.
The Division reminds persons to wash hands properly, wear masks, cover coughs and sneezes with bent elbows and tissues, and avoid persons with symptoms of the virus.
Also, citizens are reminded to sanitize surfaces regularly touched and practice social distancing.
If you fall ill, the Division advises that you call the hotline at 800-HEAL (4325).
on a hard, plastic chair
what did he expected, a soft plastic love seat.
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Tobago Hospitality and Tourism Institute still open for business
RACHAEL ESPINET (NEWSDAY).
The Tobago Hospitality and Tourism Institute (THTI) is functioning and will continue to function as a tertiary education institution in hospitality and tourism training for Tobago.
The THTI made the announcement in a public statement on Saturday, one day after its counterpart in Trinidad – the TT Hospitality and Tourism Institute (TTHTI) – announced that it was closing due to lack of funds.
The THTI release said it had instituted all the covid19 measures for the education sector announced by the government since March, including campus closure.
The staff worked to migrate learning onto an online platform and provide remote support to faculty and students since March 23.
The THTI is now enrolling students for the associate degree programme for the January 2021 intake. Interested people can register online at www.thti.edu.tt.
THTI also offers short courses for professional skills upgrading or personal interest, as well as pre-qualification programmes which offer a pathway for students who have not attained all the required CXC subjects to apply to the degree programme.
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Tobago pyramid schemes collapse
ELIZABETH GONZALES (NEWSDAY).
People who have been scammed in the pyramid scheme are asked to come forward and file official complaints with the Fraud Squad. No one has done so yet.
But one Tobago man plans to do so.
The man, who didn’t want to be named, told Newsday he invested $700, invited four people to invest another $700 each – but because the pyramid scheme didn’t operate the way it was claimed to, he not only lost his own money, but had to repay the four people he invited.
On Wednesday, Newsday spoke to a Fraud Squad officer for an update on action against the "investment" scheme, which has attracted hundreds of people across T&T.
The officer said no one has come forward, so there cannot be an investigation into the private scheme.
“I don’t think anybody really came and reported that they have lost, to show there is anything at this stage for an official investigation.”
He said it is still of concern to police.
“So if there is someone who feels they have been defrauded, come forward. That’s what the Fraud Squad is here for. Once you provide the information, we will investigate it.”
But, he said, “If persons do not come forward – and nobody is coming forward – then there is nothing for us to investigate, and all we can continue to say is we are concerned about it.”
The pyramid scheme surfaced about two months ago, with people inviting family and friends to invest and get back three times that amount in returns.People can invest as little as $200 and are promised $1,600 in two weeks if they can bring two other people in to invest.
The pyramid has got the attention of the Central Bank, the Financial Intelligence Unit and the police, who warned the public to be cautious about putting their money into this type of scheme.
The Tobago man joined the pyramid scheme group on August 8. Days after, he met with the group administrator in Crown Point to hand over his investment. He was supposed to receive a payout of $5,600.
He told Newsday the group had 350 investors, including one administrator.
“I invited four people to invest under me, which would have made it $2,800 plus my $700.”
According to the rules, to be “blessed” after investing the investor must bring in two people to invest the same amount as themselves.
Then for those two people to be “blessed” they must do the same. The scheme depends on investments by newcomers.
It is likened to a flower and the centre is called “the water.” When others invest, it pushes those who invested before into the "water," where a lump sum will be paid. Investors are told it will take two weeks for them to get to the "water" to “cash out.”
Newsday understands there are over 500 active pyramid groups across T&T with hundreds of people involved.
The man told Newsday, “When it was time for me to cash out because I was in the water, the other person who was supposed to cash me out say they brought in their two people already – the process is, you’re first in the fire, wind, earth and then water. So the people in the wind element brought in their two people, but the person didn’t cash me out, they cash out somebody else who wasn’t in the water.
“She was cashing out her friends and family. People were just coming in and joining so they could cash her and her people out.
“The people who I brought in, I had to give them back their money, which was $2,800. That what’s I lost, plus my investment of $700." He said a major issue is that people were not reinvesting but cashing out and leaving, so the scheme couldn’t survive. He said he had second thoughts earlier, because he didn’t have enough information. But after seeing a close friend cash out, he was convinced he could benefit.
Unfortunately, this didn’t work out, the group was deleted and over 200 people lost their money.
The man said he and his friends who had lost their deposits wanted to take the woman responsible to court, "But I don’t know what’s happening with that now.
“I went to her home and she said she has no money for me and she has no money, she can’t say where the money went.
"She never gave me a chance to get answers but I know she’s receiving threats."His response to her, he said, was: "I tell she, ‘I leaving it to God,’ and she say she praying to the same God too.”
And yet even after losing more than he invested, he still believes the scheme can work if it is operated correctly and honestly.
“There must be strict rules. People must be required to bring in their two people and they must invest and re-gift. Re-gifting is not an investment, it is helping someone who is in the 'water' to cash out.”
Also trapped in the pyramid scheme was a Tobago police officer who invested $400 on August 20. The group crashed days later.
The policewoman, who has been in the service for 16 years, told Newsday on Thursday she was promised a payout of $3200 in three days. She was also asked to reinvest $400 and pay $135 for the administrator fee so she didn’t have to find two more people.
“Days after I asked the person who got me in for an update and she told me to check the group. I saw my name in a circle. I was in the fire. Three days after, I asked for an update and I was in wind.”She said the administrator kept changing the rules.
“After ten days I was in earth and to this day I am still in earth. Last night when I check the group, the admin asked me to contact another man who is now my admin. When I contacted the other person I was told the group is on a go-slow and they want people to do their own sou- sou because the group is closed.”
She said she asked the admin to address all investors in the group and threatened to report her to the Fraud Squad. “She telling me if Fraud Squad come she will show them her books of the people she paid out.
There were 200 people in this group.
She alleged there are senior officers in charge of groups. "Some of them crashed, that's why I didn’t join any police officer group. I picked this one I because I didn’t have to bring in anyone. What's happening is these administrators getting greedy."
ACP of the Tobago Division Vernon Roberts told Newsday he is not aware of any police officer in charge of any pyramid scheme. “As far as I am aware, that is illegal.”
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Tobago Chamber to Gov't: Make Tobago VAT-free zone
COREY CONNELLY (NEWSDAY).
The Tobago Business Chamber is hoping Finance Minister Colm Imbert will announce plans to make Tobago a VAT-free zone in the October 5 budget.
Chamber head Martin George gave the chamber’s wish list in a WhatsApp voice note on Tuesday.
He said the chamber had floated the idea some time ago and it was not impossible.
“You have places like Panama, where they have declared a duty-free zone. So it is quite possible to achieve this, and we think that that will also help to stimulate greater investment in Tobago.”
He added: “You will have many more Tobagonians wanting to come across to Tobago and retire, because if they know that Tobago is a VAT-free zone, it means their cost-of-living expenses will be tremendously reduced, so there is a greater incentive in that regard.
“And with that, you then start developing your health care systems in Tobago. So therefore, once people are retired, and they know they have proper healthcare on the island, Tobago will be paradise for retirees.”
Saying the chamber is eagerly anticipating the presentation, George repeated its call for the “complete and unconditional removal” of the foreign investment legislation, which, he believes, has “crippled and stifled all forms of direct foreign investment into Tobago.
“So we need to see that legislation totally repealed. We just need to get rid of it. It has been the greatest albatross around the neck of Tobago in terms of crippling and stifling direct foreign investment.”
George said the chamber is also hoping to hear an announcement of measures to allow for a mandatory minimum of ten per cent local contractor input on all major infrastructural projects.
“We don’t just want local labour input. We don’t want you just hiring labourers and craftsmen. We want you to hire contractors in the mega-projects in Tobago. Hire them as sub-contractors so that they can get a chance to learn the skillset and there would be that knowledge exchange in terms of them developing their skills to be eventually take on bigger and bigger projects.”
He said the knowledge transfer would trickle down to the workforce.
George is also hoping to hear of measures to speed up the distribution of relief grants to those affected by the covid19 restrictions in Tobago.
“This would ensure that, at every level, everyone who has applied, even for the salary relief grants, staff members who have applied for that, that they would get this expedited and actually receive the grants in hand.”
Some hoteliers and guesthouse operators have begun receiving money from the Government’s $50 million grant facility.
Tobago Tourism Agency Ltd’s director of tourism product development and destination marketing Narendra Ramgulam said three businesses – Bananaquit, Villa Indra and Mike’s Holiday Resort – have received $300,000 each.
The grants are intended to help hoteliers upgrade their establishments in order to boost the island’s tourism sector, post-covid19.
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Jack predicts 14% blow to Tobago economy
COREY CONNELLY (NEWSDAY).
Tobago is projected to experience a fiscal decline of approximately 14 per cent by year's end, owing to the continuing negative effect of the covid19 pandemic.
Secretary for Finance and the Economy Joel Jack made the revelation on Wednesday at the post-executive council media conference at the Victor E Bruce Financial Complex, Scarborough.
Saying the division is monitoring the impact of the pandemic on Tobago’s economy, Jack said the projected slump in GDP (Gross Domestic Product) is being driven largely by declines in the tourism, manufacturing and financial-services sectors.
He said the division also anticipates increases in inflation owing to supply-chain disruptions as well as increased unemployment in the private sector.
“Fortunately, our inflation and unemployment numbers over the past few years have been very low and we anticipate very minimal increases in this regard,” Jack said.
Noting the UK and Barbados have projected economic declines of 20 and ten per cent, respectively, by the end of 2020, Jack said: “In TT, where the initial estimates suggest a decline of approximately ten per cent, we – in the Tobago context – our projections are for a decline of approximately 14 per cent in 2020.”
He pointed out that this came on the heels of a projected increase in economic activity for fiscal 2019.
Jack and Chief Secretary Ancil Dennis are expected to lead a THA delegation to Trinidad for talks with Finance Minister Colm Imbert ahead of the October 5 budget.
Before the last budget, the THA requested an allocation of $4.72 billion but received $2.283 billion from central government.
In the THA’s budget in June, it requested $4.71 billion.
Jack is optimistic that notwithstanding the country’s current economic challenges, Tobago will receive an allocation to continue its development agenda.
“We also expect an allocation that will be in keeping with the resolutions of the Dispute Resolution Commission (DRC)."
The DRC has established a band of approximately 4.03-6.9 per cent of the national budget that the assembly is entitled to in accordance with the THA Act.
Jack is hoping the allocation will contain measures to mitigate the continuing effects of covid19, and support for the revitalisation of Tobago’s tourism industry.
“This industry has been particularly adversely impacted by the covid19 pandemic.”
He also wants a focus on Tobago’s economic diversification thrust, particularly financial and technical assistance to small and medium enterprises as well as support for the agricultural sector “as we seek to increase output and enhance the island’s food security.”
Also on the THA’s wish list, Jack said, is support for the acceleration of the housing programme and Tobago’s digital infrastructure.
Jack is also hoping to see an upgrade to the island’s health infrastructure and social safety net, especially for those adversely affected by the pandemic.
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Tobago chocolate wins Europe award
STEPHON NICHOLAS (NEWSDAY).
Two centuries ago, sugar was the undisputed king of Tobago. But owing to the efforts of Tobagonian Duane Dove, owner and founder of Tobago Cocoa Estate, there is a new king in town – cocoa.
On 50 sprawling acres in Roxborough, the main ingredient for rich, delectable chocolates is grown.
If you ask Dove, he might argue his chocolates are the best in the world. He will get a chance to prove that very soon.
Last Saturday, at the European Bean-to-Bar International Chocolate Awards, held virtually, Dove's Tobago Estate Chocolate Laura won silver in the plain/origin milk chocolate bar category. The award qualifies Dove's product for the world chocolate finals later this year.
According to the competition's Facebook page, "the bean-to-bar competition focuses on fine, craft and micro-batch chocolate makers who work directly from cacao beans to produce plain/origin and flavoured chocolate bars from Europe, the Middle East and Africa."
It is not the first award won by the Tobago Cocoa Estate, but according to Dove, "This is the big fish."
He told Newsday, "To win here means we're doing something right...The quality we are talking about is Rolls Royce chocolate, not candy bars."
He added, "When you making craft, artisan chocolates you would have all the raw material left in the bar – cocoa mask, cocoa butter. When you go a regular store or supermarket, what they're selling might not have any cocoa butter but palm oil and vegetable fats. That defines the supermarket brands from the gourmet chocolate. The cocoa butter is a key ingredient in the final products. If you don't have the cocoa butter you not gonna get that soft melt on the palate."
Dove, 50, said the award lifted his spirits and those of his partners amid the gloom of the covid19 pandemic.
"We were all – myself, my staff and all our partners – elated by the news of the award and quite frankly, we needed a boost, in light of the challenges we have been faced with in 2020. Hopefully there will be more to come as we await results from another competition in December.
“We also, with this award, qualify for the International Chocolate Awards world finals coming soon."
Dove said the covid19 pandemic has increased the demand for chocolate products, but the supply chain has been seriously disrupted.
"Because of covid19 we're getting logistical problems to get cocoa from point A to point B. Since March we haven't been able to produce new products."
The Tobago Cocoa Estate sells chocolates mainly in the US, France and Denmark, but products are now reaching Australia and New Zealand.
At the National Cocoa Awards on Friday, Trade and Industry Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon revealed that between 2018 and 2019, cocoa farmers garnered $17.9 million in exports.
Dove, who has been involved in the industry for 25 years and making chocolate since 2010, said cocoa is a natural export crop for TT with tremendous potential.
"The wonderful thing is that we are blessed in TT (with) our Trinitario cocoa, indigenous to the islands. In Tobago we have some older varieties, which give a more intense taste and flavour in the chocolate products – an attribute we welcome."
Dove grew up on a farm and learned by helping out.
"After O-Levels I went to Canada to study and enrolled in a culinary arts programme. I then moved to Europe to further my studies within wines and beverages, and got hooked on pairing artisan chocolates with fine wines and aged spirits. I focused specifically on combining aged Caribbean rum from the region with chocolates made from the best cocoa grown on the islands and deep South America. All these experiments led to my book Rum and Chocolate – A Journey Round the Caribbean."
Dove, a trained sommelier, said the book "captures the spirit of Caribbean islands."
On the Tobago Estate he is involved in every stage of production, from planting, harvesting, fermenting, drying and storing the beans right up to the production of the chocolates at factories abroad.
"At the end of the day, you sell beans to someone to make chocolate and they get all the name. I do not sell beans. This thing about selling cocoa is long-time thing. People want to pay you a pittance for your beans.
“Our goal is to create a chocolate of the highest and best quality."
He said the Tobago Cocoa Estate is also a huge tourist attraction for the island, since he offers tours as well.
Dove works with the Tobago Tourism Agency Ltd and foreign agencies. As the estate is near the Argyle Waterfall, tours usually combine stops at both sites. Visitors can visit the waterfall, then come to the estate to savour “cocoa tea,” a chocolate bar and see the operations. People in the village also benefit when there are big events, through catering, he said.
It all started in 2006, when he got land from the THA and started planting cocoa.
"While planting we carved out land to accommodate tours, a plantation-style house and a boutique house."
It usually takes four-six years before a cocoa tree starts bearing. A farmer will have to wait around ten years before the trees begin to reach full yields. Running a cocoa estate is hard work.
"Maintenance of the trees is paramount. Proper drainage, proper shading, regular pruning and field sanitation are key."
Surprisingly, Dove said getting labour for the estate is difficult in Tobago, and workers are usually brought from Trinidad.
"We have a couple permanent workers, but most of the work is seasonal, whether it's pruning or five acres to clear."
Harvesting, from October to May, can generate two-three shipments of beans, which are sent via ocean freight.
Dove boasted his beans are the first in T&T to receive 100 per cent organic certification, an achievement he is very proud of.
He said people are becoming more cognisant about what they consume and his chocolates can stand scrutiny.
"Research has shown palm oil causes cancer when heated above certain temperatures. Forests have to be cleared to get the palm oil."
Dove said although his product might be slightly more expensive than some on the shelves, it is of the highest quality and its production was eco-friendly.
Dove said passing on the cocoa knowledge to the younger generation is crucial.
Although his two children are too young, Dove intends to teach them about the industry.
"Of course, to pass that onto the younger generation, that is how we have to get this thing to live on...If we don't do that everything will be lost."
He said most of his employees are elderly but he hopes more youths show interest in cocoa.
"You try to retain that knowledge and pass that on to the younger folks."
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Tobago tourism moves again with more flights, Buccoo tours
COREY CONNELLY (NEWSDAY).
Tobago House of Assembly (THA) Chief Secretary Ancil Dennis has welcomed the Government’s decision to reopen the Buccoo Marine Park and increase from two to six the number of daily flights between the two islands.
The Prime Minister made the announcement on Saturday during a news conference at the Diplomatic Centre, St Ann’s.
Dr Rowley said Tobago’s tourism-based economy was especially challenged owing the restrictions that have been imposed to prevent the spread of the virus.
As such, he said, economic activity needed to return to the island.
Speaking at a news conference at the Blue Waters Inn, Speyside, where the THA executive council met on the weekend to discuss the October 5 budget, Dennis said Rowley’s gesture to reopen the marine park and increase flights between the islands was timely given the economic challenges confronting hoteliers and average Tobagonians.
“The prime minister announced the amount of flights between the islands will increase from two flights per day to six flights per day. Of course, we welcome that,” he told reporters.
“We welcome the opportunity to have some level of activity on the island with respect to tourism. He announced that the Buccoo Marine Park will, once again be open where our tour operators can begin to ply their trade again.
“Of course, this would be subject to specific protocols to ensure that we manage the spread of the covid19 virus.”
Dennis could not elaborate further on the initiatives but announced that by the middle of November, legislation governing the operations of the marine park, will come before the assembly.
He revealed he already has a copy of the draft bill.
“As I said before, we attempted to bring some change to that area in terms of how it (marine park) was managed. We attempted to implement a policy and we began doing so successfully.
“But, I said, as well, that in order for us to manage that place more effectively, that there was a need for legislation.
“So, by the end of this month to the middle of next month, we will see coming to the assembly for the first time in a long while, a Tobago bill brought before the Tobago House of Assembly.”
Dennis also said he will continue to hold discussions with Finance Minister Colm Imbert with a view to assisting hoteliers rebound from the effects of the pandemic.
He said an announcement of new initiatives to revitalise the sector should come by the end of the month.
“I would hope that by the end of this month, we will be able to identify specific initiatives because in discussions with them, I am told that many of them are unable to access the funding available through the loan guarantee programme, through First Citizens bank, where the Government has made available some $300 million to businesses impacted by this pandemic.”
He added: “We will continue to give priority on the tourism sector. I have always said that tourism is not dead. It is simply in a coma and I saying despite the challenges, we will continue to do some soft marketing of the destination to ensure that destination Tobago continues to be visible. “
Dennis assured stakeholders will not be left out of the discussions “so that when the time comes and the borders are once again open, destination Tobago will in fact be in a state of readiness.” He said much focus will also be placed on the island’s agricultural sector in this fiscal year.
Special funding has been identified to treat with the availability of lands for livestock and crop production, he said, through the land management unit of the Office of the Chief Secretary. By the end of the year, lands for new farmers should be available in Goldsborough and other communities
“And, of course, the target we have set for that new area is 50 to 100 new farmers must be able to operate here in Tobago by the end of the year.”
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Austal Vietnam delivers catamaran to Trinidad and Tobago
By Alex Smith, Cruise and Ferry (http://Austal Vietnam delivers catamaran to Trinidad and Tobago)
(https://www.cruiseandferry.net/Portals/0/EasyDNNNews/10361/940420p516EDNmainimg-Austal-Vietnam-delivers-catamaran-to-Trinidad-and-Tobago_credit-Austal-Vietnam.jpg)
Austal Vietnam has delivered catamaran ferry A.P.T James to the National Infrastructure Development Company (NIDCo) of Trinidad and Tobago. The ferry is the first vessel to be fully constructed at the company’s shipyard in Vung Tau, Vietnam.
The 94-metre-long ferry has capacity for 926 passengers and 250 cars, with an operational speed of up to 37.5 knots. It features Austal’s raked bow design and Motion Control System technology, which is designed to deliver a more comfortable and stable ride for passengers.
“This is an outstanding achievement for both Austal Vietnam and the Austal Group as we continue to focus and consolidate our defence and commercial vessel capabilities in strategic locations throughout Australasia,” said David Singleton, chief executive officer of Austal. “Our sincere congratulations go to Prime Minister Keith Rowley and the NIDCo of Trinidad and Tobago, the people of Trinidad and Tobago, and of course our 450-strong team of shipbuilders in Vung Tau on the delivery of this impressive new ship.”
A.P.T James will now enter service on the ‘sea bridge’ route between the islands of Trinidad and Tobago.
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Incat launches Trinidad and Tobago’s Buccoo Reef
By Alex Smith, Cruise and Ferry (https://www.cruiseandferry.net/articles/incat-launches-trinidad-and-tobagos-buccoo-reef-1)
(https://www.cruiseandferry.net/Portals/0/EasyDNNNews/10312/940420p516EDNmainimg-Buccoo-Reef-launched_credit-Incat-Tasmania_Ben-Grainger.jpg)
Australian shipbuilder Incat Tasmania has launched new ferry Buccoo Reef at its shipyard in Hobart, Australia.
Incat began construction on Buccoo Reef in 2019 and has since installed all major machinery and equipment onboard the vessel. The ship’s electronic systems are now being commissioned and tested in preparation for sea trials in November. She is scheduled to be delivered later this year for service on the seabridge between Port of Spain, Trinidad and Scarborough, Tobago.
Buccoo Reef will have capacity for 1,000 passengers in three lounges, which will include a range of bars and food service areas. The vehicle deck will have 175 truck lane metres and capacity for 182 cars, or 239 cars if trucks are not carried.
The ship will have an operating speed of over 40 knots, powered by four MAN 16v 28/33 STC marine diesel engines, Wärtsilä WXJ 1200 SRI waterjets and ZF 53500NR2H gearboxes. The vessel will also feature a Naiad Dynamics active ride control system, with active trim tabs aft and a retractable T-foil located at the aft end of the centre bow.
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But wait. Whatever happened to the Galleons Passage, the JDLV or JLDV or whatever it is ? All that scrap, or sent back..lease cancelled ? or contract signed ? in addition or in spite of.. I can't keep up with these speed beast nah. They going in and out of Tobago so fast, ppl doh have time ketch them, before anudda one come again... :devil:
After such a long trip, ah lil R&R in order, that an a lil opposite sex boat, might make ah baby boat that may work our channel. On a serious note, we need to build and maintain our own ships, hire some ship builders to teach, we have engineers, we have welders, we have people.. dare we only capable of making pans ? Do we build and make stuff other than pepper sauce - yeah, yeah, is borse . We richer, yet we poorer. We modern, yet we ancient. We capable and fit, yet inefficient . What really is TT story.
Ah Ukraine crew on a Chinese boat, maintenance in Cuba. Ok.
Who operates the boat locally, who maintains, ah Nordic crew ? .. since this one getting about 20,000 between T&T trips out it system putt-putting round the Caribbean, by the time we actually make ah nudda 10000 between T&T, we go just buy another one ?
Purchase and all that running around the world..and now we doing test ?
Galleons makes 2nd run to Tobago
Kinnesha George
Herbert George, chairman of the National Infrastructure Development Company (NIDCO) is convinced that there is still some fine-tuning to be done before the Galleons Passage is put into service.
Yesterday, NIDCO officials sailed aboard the vessel to Tobago in what was considered its second test run to the island. The vessel departed Port of Spain at 7.41 am and arrived in Scarborough at 11.46 am.
For close to 45 minutes, the team aboard the vessel remained on the inside as Sunday Newsday observed officials attempting to get the ramp to line up with the ramp at the port compound.
Speaking with Sunday Newsday as he disembarked, George described the trial run was a success.
“I’m quite comfortable… as far as the vessel everything is fine.
“The ramp though, we have some tweaking to do to make it fit for all seasons; be it high tide or low tide, so we would be doing that in the next week and hopefully during that time we would be getting the necessary certificates and so from the Marine Services Department to be able to sail the vessel with passengers,” he said.
George said, as far as the mechanical functioning of the vessel, there were no problems as it was a smooth sailing to Tobago.
“We have some tweaking to do. As far as this ramp is concerned, we are going to make it wider so that the vessel can berth there much easier than it did today. Although today was a learning experience, I think we can make some adjustments and have it much easier,” he said. Members of the media were then invited inside for a tour of the vessel. Upon entering the vehicle ramp, George indicated that there were plans to install a canopy in that section, so as to prevent the sea spray from coming in onto the vehicles.
“The seller is responsible for that installation, he has had a lot of difficulties to get a vendor to do that work for him, he has gotten someone from Canada, they came and took the measurements and they have gone to fabricate the canopy to install it. They said the next three or so weeks, they would come with the material to have it installed,” he said.
George noted, however, that the installation would not delay the sailing of the vessel on the inter-island route.
As the team proceeded to the top deck, George said that the vessel would accommodate approximately 475 passengers in the first instance as the sun deck would not be used. He said NIDCO would continue to own and maintain the vessel, while it would be wet leased to the Port Authority.
George also touched on maintenance. “NIDCO has some capacity to maintain vessels, we have been doing that with the water taxis, but we recognise that this is not merely enough. So as part of the arrangement, we went out and we got an electrical engineer, a mechanical engineer and another kind of a maintenance manager to come in and he would set up the structure to maintain not only this one but all the vessels under NIDCO’s purview.”
:whistling: :whistling:
Duke: My pirogue will beat Galleons Passage ferry
Sean Douglas (Newsday)
WATSON DUKE will race a pirogue from Tobago to Trinidad to prove it can beat the ferry Galleons Passage, he vowed at a briefing yesterday.
The Public Services Association (PSA) leader was joined by maritime attorney Nyree Alfonso and dockers' unionist Michael Annisette.
In the wake of his famous partial swim from Tobago to Trinidad, Duke said in the ferry’s first week of service, he will travel by pirogue, change his clothes, then host a news briefing.
“We’ll show that a pirogue can travel the same route and reach faster than the Galleons Passage.”
Duke dubbed the ferry “a slow boat” travelling at 11 knots and taking six hours, slower than the current ferries Spirit and Express, which reach 30 knots and take 3.5 hours. He scoffed that rather than the buy the Galleons Passage, the Government should have spent those millions of dollars to buy pirogues for Tobagonians to travel to Trinidad.
Duke alleged the Government had changed its tune on the Galleons Passage’s specs: it was originally said to take 700 passengers and 100 cars, but now said to take just 400 passengers and no cars.
He alleged that for political reasons the Government had raced the boat to Tobago at a dangerously high speed of 22 knots, to do the trip in 4.5 hours.
Saying Tobagonians are not happy with the Tobago-born Prime Minister, Duke said, “You’ll get a surprise licking come 2020, because this (issue) is not going away.”
Alfonso scoffed at the government’s litigation against her as an effort to muzzle her that is doomed to fail and would in fact make her a wealthy attorney.
She alleged thee had no proper procurement of ferries in recent times, and alleged the Cabo Star should have been leased for about US$12,000 per day, but TT was overpaying this cost by US$10,000. She found it astounding Dr Rowley could just walk into a shipyard in Australia and start ordering ferries, as she challenged his maritime expertise to do so and whether he had first consulted local ferry users.
Alfonso also lamented that vessels from both shipbuilders Incat and Austal will be ordered, as this would incur two different sets of spare parts and technicians.
She asked which TT expert had visited China to okay the Galleons Passage as suitable for here. Alleging unsuitability for heavy seas, she said Austal vessels work in seas with a sea scale of five, but TT waters are sea scale six.
Alfonso said all six Coast Guard vessels bought by this government are now down.
She alleged TT is paying much more to lease its water taxis than Martinique and Guadeloupe paid for similar boats . Saying the Prime Minister had spoken of corruption around the Cabo Star and Ocean Flower II, she asked what had been done about this.
“One manager went to Panama and said, ‘This boat is not suitable,’ and he was fired for his candour.”
Alfonso accused the government of ignoring the need for the right specs for the new ferry but just rushing to get one before the next general election.
more test necessary, send it back to China, via Cuba, via Panama canal..etc..etc..Tobago to damn far..Lawd..I know it was coming, but sonner than later smh
http://guardian.co.tt/news/galleons-passage-6.2.730837.dae32d134c
i know i misunderstanding something here, but ah fraid to ask
https://newsday.co.tt/2019/05/09/ferry-dry-docked-in-spain/
NEWday
Fast ferry APT James now scheduled to arrive in January
DARREN BAHAW 14 HRS AGO
The anticipated end-of-year gift of a new fast ferry to service the inter-island route from Port of Spain to Scarborough has hit a snag and is now expected to arrive in the first week of the new year.
The National Infrastructure Development Company (Nidco) which purchased the vessel on behalf of the government announced on Saturday that the unavailability to refuel at the last scheduled stop at Cape Verde before sailing across the Atlantic Ocean caused the unexpected delay.
Bunkering services were unavailable owing to the Christmas holidays, Nidco stated and an alternative stop had been made at Las Palmas, Canary Islands to refuel before the vessel embarks on its voyage to TT.
Nidco said once there was good weather the vessel is expected to arrive by the first week of January.
The vessel, named APT James, in honour of the late Alphonso Philbert Theophilus James, a famed rights activist of Black Rock, Tobago who was elected to the Legislative Council in 1946.
It is one of two vessels purchased by the state in a government-to-government deal with the Australian government. The other vessel named after the famous Buccoo Reef of Tobago has been commissioned in Tasmania, Australia by shipbuilder Incat in early October and is expected to arrive in the first quarter of 2021.
The APT James was constructed in Vietnam by shipbuilders Austal and has the capacity to carry 926 passengers and 250 vehicles.
The upper deck is divided into a first-class section for 132 people and a separate economy section for the remaining passengers.
The vessel set sail from Vietnam on November 12 and arrived at Port of Galle in Sri Lanka six days later to refuel. It then journeyed to the Republic of Djibouti, in East Africa on November 25 to refuel and arrived at Suez Canal, Egypt three days later.
A look at the passenger seating in the new fast ferry APT James. - Photo courtesy Baird Maritime
The ferry had to make an unscheduled stop at Port Valletta, Malta on December 2 where it remained docked for several days owning to bad weather in the Mediterranean Sea, according to Nidco and arrived at the Port of Algecrias, Spain on December 18 before sailing to Las Palmas, Canary Islands on Christmas Day.
Nidco had stated that each of the five refuelling stops should have taken at least one day stay in the respective ports.
The last leg of the journey, an estimated 2,900 nautical miles, is final sailing in the 11,572 nautical miles away from Vietnam, halfway across the globe.
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(https://newsday.co.tt/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/2166603-1024x503.jpg)
(https://newsday.co.tt/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/7955787-1024x435.jpg)
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What is this about ?
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What is this about ?
Just wondering of Basic Maintenance. But not judging no 'book' by it's cover.