TT preferred by cruise ships

Minister of Foreign Affairs Knowlson Gift, yesterday said contrary to media reports which stated that Trinidad and Tobago was unsafe to travel to, this country continued to be the preferred destination for cruise liners. The Minister based his conviction on a letter dated September 3, 2003, from Furness Shipping and Marketing Ltd, agents for P&O, Princess Cruises.

The Minister was at the time speaking at a news conference at his Port-of-Spain office to give an update on his recent address to the 58th Regular Session of the United Nations General Assembly. Gift said he had noticed the “noise” created during the last few months over whether this country was a safe travel destination and the adverse international media reports. Quoting from the letter, Gift said the shipping agents had indicated P&O had decided to “increase their calls to this country for the 2004/2005 season.” He said the agents said they were “already expecting 14 calls for the season, and the new decision to add more calls would bring the number of expected calls to 36.” The Minister said the agents noted that the increase in cruise liners reflected that P&O had confidence in this country. He said the agents further indicated that it owed the ministry its gratitude in dispelling the fears about travel to this country. The minister added that in spite of the advisories, the “Brits still favour TT.”

On the issue of progress on TT being the headquarters of the FTAA, Gift said the prospects looked good. He said that soon “road trips” would be mounted to get support. The first of these will be to Latin America, “and all indicators are that the campaign is falling on sympathetic ears.” He said hopefully by mid next year the picture would be clearer about the organisation coming into being. On his trip to the UN, Gift said among the matters discussed was security and safety of small states as it related to the trans-shipment of nuclear waste through the Caribbean Sea. He said he felt the matter would be “engaging the attention of governments, international jurists and society at large,” since no one could say when such an accident would occur. He added, “we made a point of having the UN address that issue to see whether some persuasion could be done, as far as those countries which are engaged in having and transporting nuclear waste from one part of the globe to another.”

Also present at the briefing were legal luminaries, Karl Hudson-Phillips and Justice Anthony Lucky, who are members of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) respectively. They both thanked the Ministry for its role in having them selected to the bodies. Hudson-Philips, who is a non-full time Judge of the ICC, explained that the position allowed him to do other work once it did not conflict with that of his status as a Judge. He said once in every four months he is expected to be in The Hague, where the Court is located, but having being assigned to the trial chamber, he was not expected to be a resident as such, until July or September next year. Justice Lucky said he too was proud to serve internationally and his recent experience presiding over the long standing dispute between Malaysia/Singapore is one he would never forget. He said he was expected to be in Hamburg, Germany, where the court is located at least three times a year, but he was advised to “keep a suitcase packed” at all times.