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  • 1 year ago


Some reef tour operators in Tobago are dissatisfied with recent upgrades to the Pigeon Point jetty. In a video which has now gone viral on social media, one reef tour vessel operator spoke of his concerns.

More in this Elizabeth Williams report.
Transcript
00:00Ronnie Elliott, the operator of the Reef Torp Vessel Cool Runnings.
00:06You must ask questions to the people who are doing it every day
00:10before you come up with these ideas that you're doing.
00:13Look, there is no proper support.
00:16They have a piece of angle iron.
00:18Look, all of these things, you do that, look, they're shaking.
00:20All of them, they're shaking.
00:21The minute a few people come and hold on to this,
00:25a little rough sea come, all of these,
00:28these ain't gonna last too long.
00:30Mr. Elliott, as he stated his concerns
00:33with the materials used to refurbish the iconic jetty.
00:37This is the last step, right?
00:40This post is in front of this step.
00:43So, which means that the boat has to come in front of this step.
00:48How are you stepping onto the boat from here,
00:50the boat in front of this step?
00:52How are you getting onto the boat, right?
00:54The boat has to come right into this step, right?
00:57Before, the step was right on the post.
01:00So, you just step off and you step on the arm.
01:04Even with the little bumper,
01:05you have a little space where you could step.
01:07Now, you have no, this is way too far
01:12from where the boat would be.
01:14The boat would be all the way here, right?
01:16With a bumper on this, you have to put some bumper,
01:18which means that we have to get tires.
01:20If they didn't come with professional bumpers,
01:22you have to use tires.
01:23When you put a couple of tires on here,
01:25the boat would end up way out here.
01:27He is calling for answers from the relevant authorities.
01:30The boat has to be in front of this step.
01:33How? You cannot put,
01:34you can't put a bumper on this because it's so low, right?
01:36So that, and we are, we are low tide,
01:38we are low sea now.
01:39If sea is a little high, that means the water above that.
01:42How our boat is going to come in here with that thing there?
01:45All of these things have to have bumpers on them, right?
01:48You have to know that before you,
01:50who are they consulting with?
01:52This is the problem that we are having.
01:54You have to consult with the people who are doing it every day,
01:56who know.
01:57Not people who come with some book
01:59and say that they are engineers.
02:01They don't know because they don't work on a jetty.
02:03Elliott informed us that the opposite side of the jetty
02:06is even worse,
02:07and those who constructed the jetty
02:09need to go back to the drawing board.
02:11You're going to start from here.
02:13Look at this.
02:14This is just what you call disaster waiting to happen.
02:21This is disaster.
02:22Yes.
02:23You come down.
02:24I'm going to go all the way down.
02:26Look at this.
02:27Look at this.
02:28No support.
02:29This is jiggling up and down.
02:31No support.
02:32TV6 News contacted other reef tour operators
02:35who echoed similar sentiments.
02:37The management of Frankie Tours told TV6 News
02:41that while the repairs are welcomed,
02:43the area needs to be functional.
02:45The delay is affecting operations
02:47and the materials used does not appear to be stable
02:51as reinforcement is needed.
02:53In a statement on the matter,
02:55the management of the Pigeon Point Heritage Park said
02:57throughout the renovation process,
02:59they carried out extensive project walkthroughs
03:02and inspections at every milestone.
03:06Pigeon Point management also said
03:08that stakeholders and boat operators
03:10provided valuable input
03:11to ensure that the project met the needs of the community.
03:16However, the release said
03:17that certain aspects of the jetty's restoration,
03:20like specific installations,
03:22couldn't be completed due to swells and bad weather.
03:26Additionally, fenders have been ordered
03:29and will be installed as soon as they arrive
03:32for safety reasons a notice had been put in place
03:35upon reopening until these outstanding matters are resolved.
03:40Elizabeth Williams, TV6 News.
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