The cruise ship that cancelled its call to Kingstown on Sunday did so because a vehicle carrier was damaged while attempting to dock at the Kingstown Cruise Terminal (KCT), the Port Authority said in a statement late Sunday night.
“Unfortunately, this incident has caused the cancellation of a cruise ship which was due here this morning. Had this accident not occurred, the cargo vessel would have departed in time for the cruise ship to make its call,” the Port Authority said in a press release.
The authority said that the vehicle carrier remains temporarily disabled but was able to discharge its cargo despite the damage to its hull.
“The position of the breach on the vessel, just above the water line presents many operational challenges and as well, requires the professional assessment of the damage before it can be safely moved from its present location.”
This resulted in the cruise ship Aurora, which has a capacity of 2,258 passengers, cancelling its scheduled 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. call to KCT.
It was the ship’s only scheduled call to St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) this cruise season, which runs through April 23, according to a schedule published by the Ministry of Tourism.
Information online suggested that after cancelling its call to SVG, the ship sailed to St. Lucia, where it was scheduled to dock on Monday (today).
In its statement on Sunday, the Port Authority said that use of KCT to berth cargo ships became necessary because of serious damage to the main Kingstown cargo pier caused by Hurricane Beryl.
The cyclone impacted SVG on July 1 as a category 4 hurricane that smashed several records, including the speed at which it developed.
A new cargo port that is being built in the city is slated to be completed by the middle of 2025.
The Port Authority said that shifting cargo operations to KCT as a temporary substitute was done to ensure continuation of some aspects of maritime trade, taking into account certain functional conditions.
“The Port’s management empathises with all affected by this unfortunate incident, particularly those more adversely impacted and sincerely regrets the resulting inconveniences.
“As a top priority, the Port Authority is taking all necessary measures to restore operations at the KCT as speedily and effectively as possible without compromise to either safety and security and the avoidance of further potential complications by moving the vessel prematurely. An investigation as to the cause of the accident will also be undertaken.”
The release said nothing about the role that the Campden Park Container Port, which was built specifically for handling cargo vessels, could play in alleviating the situation.
The next cruise call to Kingstown is slated to be Aida Perla on Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
The Ministry of Tourism has said it is expecting a record 378 cruise calls to SVG this season, two more than last year.
Update: The video in this post was added after the original article was published.
Government earn a sizeable portion of its revenue from importation of vehicles. What is the risk to this particular trade from the current boat being damage?
There are a number and fnersons who are temporary employed around the tourist season, like the ambassadors on the streets,people at the sites,seems this problem is not going to be fixed without some income being affected. Would there be any compensation for these person’s?
Who cares about gov’t revenue and this trade? Is the sizeable amount they are making fixing the roads for those same cars? Whole lot of taxes, nothing being fixed. I hope it stays there a while.
Well for starters since a great portion of the government revenue would be affected by this we might potentially see an increase on customs charges in other areas to make up for the short fall.
this kind of negligence happen when things are done in a country without proper planning, you always have to have a plan b, furthermore that cruise port is not futuristic it cannot holds most of the world largest cruise lines at this moment, a proper cruise port should be able to hold at least six ships at once, this is mickey mouse business they doing, the car boat was supposed to could have used the dock and still have at least 5 ships still there, the thing is the dock is too small and location is terrible, same with the roads ,if we have a major accident at rillan hill on these narrow roads and they have guest going to the sandals resort who just came off a long flight and just wanted to unwind, you put yourself in their shoes the thing is that government must set the agenda and plan for the future for development cant have people building houses, sheds, all sort of stuff so close to the road now its difficult to expand, one day will come when all these buildings will have to be demolished, so the moral of my story is please government please involved young brilliant minds with excellent ideas, think 30 years down the road think about more intense natural disasters and be ready to move the country forward.