TTS Nelson home for Christmas

HOME for the holidays seems an apt phrase for the Coast Guard’s flagship, TTS Nelson, which will spend Christmas and possibly the first few months of 2004 berthed at its home — the Port-of-Spain harbour. Two months after the Nelson was damaged in a collision with an inter-island ferry, the ship remained berthed at the Port-of-Spain docks with National Security Ministry officials so far unable to say when the Nelson will be operational. Even as four cruise ships arrived in Port-of-Spain over the last two weeks, the inability of the TTS Nelson to put to sea became all the more glaring. The Nelson was damaged on October 19, after the ferry Windward II collided with it at the Port-of-Spain port around 9.30 pm. A report from the National Security Ministry on the incident stated: “TTS Nelson in its present state is unseaworthy and is deemed unserviceable. Loss of use of the Nelson may run into some months, which had been patrolling the EEZ, providing a training platform for sailors and carrying out some Caribbean taskings.”

The report said that at the point of impact the Nelson sustained severe damage to its starboard side forward of midships, one foot above the waterline and consequential damage to its port side. The damage caused a 23 x 7 foot rupture in the hull and buckling of hull plates approximately 47 x 13 feet. The collision also ruptured the starboard fuel tank on deck three, damage to three watertight bulkheads and there was damage to the vessel’s port side, extending over an area approximately 20 x 6 feet. “Regional and local dockyards with the relevant capacity have to be contacted to assess the damage to carry out repairs in the shortest time possible. It is recommended that the vessel is drydocked and the hull and fittings below the waterline properly inspected for damage,” the report stated. Ironically, the report continued, the TTS Nelson was due to be drydocked this fiscal year for maintenance works which include underwater works, maintenance of tanks, watertight doors and latches, fire-main and ballast systems. The report added that the last time the Nelson was drydocked for maintenance was “in the United Kingdom prior to departure to TT in 2001.”

The vessel was purchased with great fanfare by the former UNC government with then Prime Minister Basdeo Panday proclaiming that the Nelson would be invaluable to Government’s efforts to stem the illegal drug trade. In discussions in Washington DC last week, Prime Minister Patrick Manning told US President George W Bush of this nation’s commitment to stem the illegal drug trade in the region and Government’s intention to purchase two Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) to carry the fight to the drug traffickers and strengthen TT’s border security mechanisms. Manning also spoke of plans to install a high-tech, coastal radar system. Both initiatives were started under former National Security Minister Howard Chin Lee.