Tobago Correspondent
Truckers are complaining over improper sanitation aboard the US$25,000-per-day Blue Wave Harmony cargo vessel.
They say the toilets on the boat have not been functioning properly for the last two months and running water is also scarce.
As a temporary solution to the bathroom woes, the Port Authority has placed two portable toilets on the vessel.
In an interview with Guardian Media on Friday, two veteran truckers appealed to the authorities to sort out the problem.
Trucker Caelron des Vignes said, “It is something ongoing...There is always an issue with the toilet and certain times there isn’t actually any water in the pipes. I personally experience that on two occasions.”
Another trucker, Traves Baptiste, told Guardian Media the situation is leading to immense frustration among the fraternity.
He said truckers loaded the Blue Wave with their cargo on Thursday night to sail from Scarborough to Port-of-Spain, but were then told to vacate the vessel as it could not accommodate passengers due to non-functional toilets.
Baptiste said he was one of the truckers who complied, but said others refused to leave.
He said he later learnt that the vessel departed with some of the truckers aboard.
“How you go take out some and carry some?” he asked.
He said truckers have been forced to book accommodation in Tobago and make alternative arrangements,
Des Vignes said having their cargo leave without them is a logistical and financial nightmare.
Shamfa: A national embarassment
PNM Tobago Council leader Shamfa Cudjoe-Lewis has described the truckers’ predicament as a national embarrassment and “completely unacceptable.”
In a post to Facebook, she wrote: “Tobago is holding the messy end of the stick again, and Tobagonians have had enough. To hear that our hardworking truckers are being forced to use temporary ‘porta potties’ because the vessel’s plumbing failed is an absolute insult.”
She noted the Blue Wave made its first commercial sailing less than three months ago, but it has been plagued by a litany of issues including faulty air conditioning, defective bow thrusters, and maintenance failures.
“The warning signs were there from the start. When international vessel history reports raised red flags regarding safety problems, functional defects, and past detentions, those concerns deserved rigorous, transparent investigation, not dismissal and deflection.”
She said Tobagonians should not have to pay the price for what she described as carelessness from the governments and incompetence from the Tobago House of Assembly.
“Provide the public with the maintenance roadmap. Hold the service providers accountable. Please fix the vessel, or find one that actually works.”
She accused Chief Secretary Farley Augustine of “sitting on the sidelines” while Tobagonians suffer.
“Find the courage to actively engage your friends in the Central Government to protect Tobago’s economic interests so we can maintain a decent standard of living. Our taxpayers deserve value for their hard-earned dollars. Our truckers deserve dignity. Tobago deserves better.”
Meanwhile, the Innovative Democratic Alliance, led by Dr Denise Tsoiafatt Angus, has sounded an alarm over a potential public health risk.
In a media release, the IDA said, “Where sanitation, public health, and human dignity are concerned, the responsible response is not silence. The responsible response is transparency, inspection, correction, and accountability.”
The IDA called on the Port Authority, line minister Jearlean John and Augustine to account.
Guardian Media emailed Port Authority corporate communications head Charleen Ramdhanie to confirm the sanitation concerns by the truckers and whether portable toilets were placed on the vessel.
In a media release yesterday, the Port Authority said the Blue Wave was fully operational and left Port of Spain at 1.55 pm with 48 passengers and 110 vehicles.
It denied any disruption to the service and said the vessel continues to operate safely and reliably.
