Selling Sonia

A lifeboat on the MV Sonia overlooks the city of Port-of-Spain, at the Cruise ship Complex on Wrightson Road. The Sonia arrived in TT last Tuesday  and is being leased for US$24,000 a day. It has the capacity to carry 1,200 passengers, 200 cars and can cover the voyage between Trinidad and Tobago in four and a half hours.

Although boosting luxurious accommodation, Government has been criticised over its acquisition: why the Sonia had to undergo a major cleaning and why staff is only now being trained. Some also feel that instead of being wet-leased, Government should have bought a vessel instead. The vessel was brought in just weeks before the January 17 Tobago House of Assembly (THA) elections. Works Minister Franklin Khan has described the Sonia as a gift to the people of TT. PHOTO BY ERICA RAMJASS