Mark: Inspection of ferry overdue

Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, Wade Mark, is calling on Minister of Works and Transport, Franklyn Khan, to confirm that the MV Beauport and MV Panorama are properly insured and certified. He was addressing at a media conference at the Senate on Tuesday during the tea break. Mark disclosed that his research had been unable to confirm the recent statement of the Port Authority that the two Tobago ferries Panorama were both insured with Lloyds of London. “It seems there’s a gag. Lloyds is not releasing any information.” He said he hadn’t been able to get any information on the insurance status of the Panorama. Mark distributed documents from Sweden dated September 12, 2003, which showed that the Beauport was in fact insured with the American Steamship Owner P & I Association. Asked if the Beauport could be insured with two insurers, Opposition Senator Sadiq Baksh ventured that maybe the vessel operators had to settle for a less renowned insurer than Lloyds until any possible deficiencies were corrected.

Mark also revealed that many inspections of various sections of the Beauport were actually now overdue. These included inspections of its hull, machinery, marpol compliance and load line despite the fact that a current Passenger Ship Safety Certificate had been issued. Saying the Opposition’s sole concern was for the safety of passengers travelling between Port-of-Spain and Scarborough, Mark said: “We are saying to Franklyn Khan, we want to hear from you. We want a categorical statement that the vessels are properly insured and that all aspects of their operation have been properly certified.”