New cargo ferry to strengthen Trinidad-Tobago trade

Chester Sam­bra­no

The MV Blue Wave Har­mo­ny car­go fer­ry is ex­pect­ed to sig­nif­i­cant­ly boost trade and busi­ness ac­tiv­i­ty be­tween Trinidad and To­ba­go, the Min­istry of Works and In­fra­struc­ture has said.

Min­is­ter of Works and In­fra­struc­ture Jear­lean John toured the ves­sel yes­ter­day, ac­com­pa­nied by Chief Sec­re­tary of the To­ba­go House of As­sem­bly Far­ley Au­gus­tine, Port Au­thor­i­ty of Trinidad and To­ba­go chair­man Dr Rod­ney Ram­roop, and act­ing pres­i­dent of the Na­tion­al In­fra­struc­ture De­vel­op­ment Com­pa­ny Lim­it­ed Ravi Seereer­am.

The min­istry said the new fer­ry will en­hance con­nec­tiv­i­ty across the in­ter-is­land Sea Bridge and im­prove the move­ment of goods. The MV Blue Wave Har­mo­ny has ca­pac­i­ty for ap­prox­i­mate­ly 125 freight units, 31 re­frig­er­at­ed sock­ets, and heavy-du­ty load­ing ramps, mark­ing a ma­jor up­grade in car­go ca­pa­bil­i­ty.

The ves­sel is al­so de­signed to im­prove trav­el times and op­er­a­tional re­li­a­bil­i­ty with its four main en­gines. Pas­sen­gers will ben­e­fit from 73 cab­ins, a 142-seat self-ser­vice restau­rant, lounge and en­ter­tain­ment ar­eas, and en­hanced ac­ces­si­bil­i­ty fea­tures.

The min­istry added that the fer­ry will sup­port eco­nom­ic growth, strength­en trade, and im­prove the ease of do­ing busi­ness be­tween Trinidad and To­ba­go, en­sur­ing a more re­li­able and re­silient Sea Bridge for busi­ness­es and con­sumers on both is­lands.