A long-awaited regional ferry service is moving closer to a real-world test, with CARICOM leaders signalling that a Trinidad and Tobago–owned vessel could begin limited operations “within months” as part of a broader push to cut cargo costs, ease inflationary pressures and strengthen intra-regional trade.
The heads, who wrapped up their main annual summit in Saint Lucia on Wednesday, have ordered further technical work and opened the way for a Trinidad and Tobago–owned vessel to test whether a regional ferry can be affordable and financially sustainable for ordinary traders and travellers.
Barbados TODAY understands that the heads of government directed the CARICOM Private Sector Organisation (CPSO), which has been shepherding talks between the leaders and ferry industry players, to work with the CARICOM Secretariat to develop a dossier on the ferry’s feasibility.
The leaders have asked for additional information on the affordability and accessibility of proposed ticket and freight pricing. This was to ensure any regional ferry remains viable for CARICOM citizens, with explicit attention to vulnerable groups and small traders, Barbados TODAY was told.
The heads also asked for further details on the financial models underpinning the project, including viability and sustainability projections, capital investment requirements and likely funding sources, signalling that final approval will depend on a clearer picture of commercial risk and public benefit.
While that work proceeds, the summit agreed to explore, with a designated representative of the Trinidad and Tobago government, the possibility of deploying an existing Trinidad and Tobago–owned ferry to start a southern Caribbean service as a proof of concept.
In a closing press conference late Wednesday, Prime Minister Mottley, in her capacity as lead prime minister with responsibility in the bloc’s quasi-cabinet for the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), framed the initiative within a wider effort to reduce the cost of moving goods across the region.
“The major, major initiative that we want to be able to do is to reduce the cost of cargo for intra-island trade,” said Mottley, stressing the urgency of the initiative.
“We are working on the long-awaited ferry assiduously,” Mottley said, noting a two-track approach: an interim proof of concept using existing capacity while the private sector sources vessels and regulators complete necessary work. “[Trinidad and Tobago] Prime Minister [Kamla] Persad-Bissessar has also agreed that, pending the private sector arrangements, which may take as long as a year, because they have to source vessels while we do the regulatory work, hopefully between now and the next three months.”
“Trinidad and Tobago has had a history of using ferries between Trinidad and Tobago. I think [Persad-Bissessar] said you have five ferries, and we are now about to enter discussions,” she said, describing talks planned with leaders including Prime Minister Godwin Friday of St Vincent and the Grenadines and other partners to utilise a Trinidad vessel as proof of concept.
“I’ve undertaken the responsibility of working with colleagues to be able to get the treaty arrangements for mutual recognition of licences, insurance, so that vehicles, cargo vehicles, can literally go on and come off where possible,” Mottley said, explaining that legal and insurance harmonisation will be central to enabling vehicles and cargo to move freely between islands.
“This is a work in progress,” she cautioned, noting an initial geographic focus: “Some ports in the southern Caribbean, and this is the proof of concept, will first be in the southern and eastern Caribbean.” She stressed the need to assess port infrastructure and ramp arrangements to facilitate vehicle loading and unloading.
Trinidad and Tobago has a century-long track record in operating an inter-island sea bridge between Port of Spain and Scarborough, which has been operated by a fleet of three fast ferries, APT James, Buccoo Reef and Galleons Passage, which are run by the state-owned Trinidad and Tobago Inter-Island Transportation Company.
The leaders believe that using an already available vessel could demonstrate the feasibility of regular maritime links between Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Guyana, Suriname and the Eastern Caribbean before any wider roll-out.
In earlier discussions among some member states, the Galleons Passage has been identified as the vessel for trial operations, with capacity for about 400 passengers and 60 vehicles and initial sailings proposed between Guyana and Trinidad. Those assessments, now said to be in their final stages, include reviews of port infrastructure and clearance procedures, and were expected to inform the options presented to Heads following this week’s summit.
Commissioned in 2018, the Galleons Passage is a 74-metre, catamaran-style, roll-on-roll-off, passenger ferry that accommodates up to 400 passengers and 60 cars, and features a cafeteria, a bar and a VIP lounge.
The Saint Lucia summit is the latest development in an ongoing attempt by CARICOM leaders to tackle regional transport as a strategic weakness that undermines food security, intra-regional trade and people-to-people contact. A working group involving Barbados, the CPSO, the Caribbean Development Bank and other member states has been examining fast ferry options, particularly for moving agricultural produce around the archipelago.
Private-sector maritime ventures including the Barbados-based Connect Caribe have promoted ferry plans linking Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean states, and touted ticket prices at under US$100 ($200). A mix of passenger and cargo operations is intended to lower travel and shipping costs.
But several timelines have been missed amid an ongoing struggle for vessel acquisition, port infrastructure upgrades, customs and immigration harmonisation and persistent questions about the scale of investor and government enthusiasm.
Observers said the renewed emphasis on affordability, accessibility and solid financial models also highlights an as-yet unresolved concern over whether an intra-regional ferry can avoid becoming either an expensive niche service or a drain on public finances if revenues fall short — even while they acknowledge the limited cargo capacity and high ticket prices associated with intra-regional air transport.
Touting the ferry initiative as part of a broader agenda to combat inflationary pressures across the region, Mottley told journalists: “We are singularly focused on being able to reduce the cost of intra-island cargo, which, in addition to the other measures that we have taken to increase disposable income of our citizens, but also to reduce the cost of freight, the cost of gas, and the cost of electricity.”
Combined measures aimed to shield households from imported inflation, particularly in the light of rising global oil prices, prompted by the US war on Iran, she added.
“None of us is omniscient, none of us has all the answers. None of us are omnipotent, as well. So, we will work together,” Mottley said, while warning that renewed conflict in the Persian Gulf was adding uncertainty as the US and Iran traded missile and air attacks: “As you know, last night, the fighting has started again, so that is what creates also the uncertainty, but we are committed to shielding our population as far as possible.”
She indicated that detailed operational talks and treaty drafting will follow in the coming months, with hopes that a ferry-based proof of concept could begin while the private sector moves to procure longer-term vessel solutions. (Barbados TODAY)
