Govt won’t be blackmailed

In a telephone interview on CNC3, Rowley agreed with former Transport Minister Stephen Cadiz that, “the cargo ferry service to Tobago is vital and essential.” He also agreed with Cadiz that, “there has to be an answer to the question as to who pulled the Galicia off the route and created this crisis for Tobago.” “The only assurance I can give now to the people of Tobago is that this government will do everything logically, logistically and feasibly possible to try to get Tobago’s essential service in place,” Rowley said as he recalled that he met on Monday in Tobago with members of the Tobago Chamber of Commerce and gave them this same assurance.

On the withdrawal of the Galicia from the sea bridge, Rowley stated, “The answer is simply the owners of the vessel have taken the boat off the service because the terms they demanded from Government cannot be met.” Notwithstanding the importance of a reliable cargo service to Tobago as well as disruptions occurring on the sea bridge, Rowley said this does not deviate from the point that Government has found itself in a situation where persons are making demands which it cannot, will not and must not meet.

“The Government will not be blackmailed and that is the cause of the problem. There was an agreement, confirmed by lawyers, that there was an 18 month arrangement in place that would have taken us until October 2017.” However, the Galicia’s owners had determined they want a three-year, with a twoyear extension, meaning a fiveyear contract.

Indicating the Galicia’s owners promised to pull the vessel off the sea bridge if Government did not agree to this arrangement, Rowley said, “They then gave us an ultimatum for Friday and that is what we are dealing with now.” The Prime Minister said the Port Authority is looking for alternative vessels and he has been advised that a vessel from Guyana may be able to assist.

Rowley explained that the tender process for a cargo vessel will be completed on April 24. He said once the Port Authority examines tenders to determine what alternative vessels are available, Government,”will move with expedition to choose one of those vessels and get it to Tobago as quickly as possible.” The Galicia’s final sailing is this Friday.

Saying an alternative vessel is not something “you can take off the shelf ”, Rowley warned that for a few weeks, there will be disruption and inconvenience on the sea bridge. In the meantime, “we are using whatever resources are available to get some if not all cargo to Tobago.” Rowley reminded that the terms and conditions of the Galicia’s contract, “are in fact the subject of criminal investigations at this point of time” as documents are being examined at the level of the Office of the Attorney General.

Last Friday, Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi said he will complete his analysis of the documents sent by Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan, sometime this week.

Al-Rawi said he will then provide his legal opinion and recommendations as to any action to be taken in respect of any wrongdoing in this matter. He described the situation as tantamount to, “throwing cash into the sea.” Sinanan’s immediate predecessor Fitzgerald Hinds said reports alleging that Cabinet rejected a note from him to extend the Galicia’s contract are, “totally false.” Sinanan has indicated that the TT Express, TT Spirit and a barge could be used to handle the Galicia’s cargo in the interim.

Two Coast Guard vessels are also being considered as interim options.