Angry truckers left stranded at the Port of Port-of-Spain for three days are calling on Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan and port officials to urgently find a better solution for inter-island travel, following a fire on-board the only cargo vessel, the Cabo Star, last month.
Frustrated, stranded and left without answers was how dozens of truckers described their experience at the port over the past few days.
Following the fire, which occurred on August 24, truckers have been redirected to use the APT James and the Galleons Passage passenger vessels to transport cargo to Tobago.
However, the weight limit on these vessels has prevented some of the truckers from getting on board.
As a result, truckers are complaining that not only are they losing pay, but produce and meat on the trucks are perishing as well.
When Guardian Media visited the port yesterday, truckers also accused officials of not keeping to a promise to prioritise goods trucks. Some truckers claimed some vehicles carrying lumber were allowed on board the APT James, while dozens of trucks with meat and pharmaceuticals were left behind.
Speaking to Guardian Media at the port, trucker Dinesh Lalla said, “We here, you know how long? Since yesterday morning ... People want their goods, food stuff. Corn beef, juice, rice, soup, snacks for children to go to school, so what you will do? How that reaching across? We will have to stay here overnight.”
Another frustrated trucker, Christopher Rogers, said, “I have four trucks park up three days now waiting to go and I have two more today. So, we have endless trucks just park up and you cannot go, so all the goods might spoil ... Just now Tobago might have nothing to eat and drink.”
Truckers also told Guardian Media that despite having their tickets in hand, they were still left behind. They said as a result, businesses in Tobago are suffering, and some shelves are going bare.
One Tobago trucker, Zion Stewart, said he came to Trinidad to collect goods for his business on Tuesday to return yesterday.
However, the last scheduled sailing of the APT James left without him onboard yesterday, which meant another day his business had to go without goods.
“Since last week we bought tickets. When I came on the port here, the guy (port worker) told me to hold on. Then he tell me to park up my truck, my truck is in the back of all these trucks who were also told the same thing. We don’t know what going on. Some here since six this morning. It’s now after 4 pm. Boat come, boat go and they not telling us nothing. We want answers.
“They putting on their social media that they prioritising but that is not so because I seeing trucks with galvanise going and we still here. People will eat galvanise?” Stewart added.
Truckers said they planned on sleeping at the port in the hope of getting a spot onboard whichever vessel sails first this morning.
Efforts to contact Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan and Port chairman Lyle Alexander were unsuccessful yesterday.
However, the Port Authority is expected to say more on the matter today.
