Fast Ferry Caribbean Rose arrives in SVG

Finally, a fast ferry is here! After over a year of talk and hype, one of the vessels that should have been operating here months ago has arrived.{{more}}

Potential passengers shouldn’t start making travel plans, though, because the vessel “Caribbean Rose” is currently docked off Port Kingstown, and is far removed from a sleek looking ferry – it is a dull, yellow eyesore.

“The vessel is an embarrassment on the outside,” admitted Perry Burke of Perry’s Customs and Shipping Agency, who will be the local agent of the ferry service when it gets on stream.

Burke told SEARCHLIGHT that he was very disappointed about the condition that the vessel is in, saying that this was due to some neglect on the part of the Trinidad agent.

Perry said he was frustrated that the vessel was left for over a year in Trinidad and now some repairs are needed before the vessel begins operating.

“I don’t want the vessel to start working unless everything is working well,” he said.

Burke swore that the inside of the vessel is in tip-top shape and agreed to grant SEARCHLIGHT a tour to attest to this (the tour could not be organized before this issue of SEARCHLIGHT).

According to Burke, among the things that need to be done on the vessel are: repair of the air-conditioning system, servicing the engine and giving the vessel a thorough paint job.

Burke said that the owner of the vessel, who is based in the United Kingdom, is expected here within the next two weeks, and if everything works according to plan, all the necessary repairs will be done within two months, and the service will commence.

The vessel can hold 300 passengers, and in the first instance is expected to run a St Vincent-St Lucia-Barbados- Dominica route, before expanding to include a service to Trinidad and Margarita. (KJ)