INTER-ISLAND FERRY

The continued growth in passenger and freight traffic between Trinidad and Tobago, on the inter-island ferry service operated by the Port Authority, can lead to steadily improved relations between the two islands and a reduction in the prices of consumer goods and services in Tobago.

In turn, the improved ferry service, which has been responsible for the freight and passenger growth announced by the Port Authority as having taken place between 2000 and 2002, is a pointer as to how trade relations and understanding can be further developed between this country and the rest of CARICOM; and indeed within CARICOM generally. The Port Authority announced, by way of a full page advertisement in Newsday on Friday, that its inter-island ferry passenger traffic had risen from 297, 498 in 2000 to 408,114 last year, and was projected to grow to 480,000 this year, a jump of almost 200,000.

In addition, its freight traffic had grown from 11,371 20-foot containers in 2000 to 15,388 in 2002, with a projection of 20,000 20-foot containers for 2003. Meanwhile, vehicles transported by the ferry service increased to 59,822 last year from 37,412 in 2002. Projection this year is 70,000 vehicles to be transported. The announcement by Prime Minister Patrick Manning, in his Budget presentation on Monday of “the confirmation of the purchase of an inter-island ferry,” (which will replace one of the two ferries) will mean the positioning of the Port Authority to further improve the quality of passenger and freight service provided today. Clearly, any faster ferry service, along with an increase in scheduled departures provided between Port-of-Spain and Scarborough, in addition to the maintaining of a regular service by the Port Authority, will cut down appreciably on the time between the production of goods and/or the reaping of agricultural produce and their reaching the consumers. The cost of warehousing will be less, and so too will be the interest on loans taken out by producers and exporters with respect to the goods shipped between the islands. In turn, for example, the time between the offloading of imports offloaded at  Port-of-Spain and consigned to Tobago, and their being transhipped, will be reduced.

These critical factors, once they are realised by a strenghtened and on-time ferry service, will mean that wholesale and/or retail prices of these goods can be appreciably reduced, leading to a needed drop in the cost of living in Tobago. The increase in the number of persons travelling will lead to greater inter-action and better understanding between Trinidadians and Tobagonians. The increase in inter-island travel will mean an increase in internal tourism, and particularly in the case of Tobago will see hotels and guest houses, conventional taxi and maxi-taxi operators, supermarkets, haberdashery stores, tour operators, service stations and farmers benefiting tremendously. Admittedly, the 70,000 persons projected to travel between Trinidad and Tobago this year on the inter-island ferries will include foreign and regional visitors, and additional money will be turned around within the Tobago economy, as a result of the improved ferry service. Meanwhile, if improved regional shipping connections can be effected, these would facilitate, as in the case of the Trinidad and Tobago ferry service, greater inter-CARICOM cargo and passenger traffic, and stimulate needed trading contacts.

Inter-regional trade is being literally put to the sword by advancing globalisation, placing at the individual level — jobs, and at national levels — economies, at risk. Lower cost and improved frequency and on-time schedules can stimulate a greater movement of people within the region, who, because many will be on low budgets, will be more inclined to stay at less expensive guest houses, which in turn, may seek to serve local farm and other products. An obvious plus will be the strengthening of regional tourism. And in much the same way that Trinidad and Tobago did not rely on foreign interests to develop its ferry service. In like manner, Caribbean States, if they hope to develop inter-CARICOM freight and passenger traffic, should not expect outside interests to do this for them.