Amid reports of shipping lines having ranked the Port of Port of Spain the slowest in the region, local truck drivers say, they won't be surprised if it is the slowest in the world. This as truckers face daily challenges in getting goods loaded onto cargo vessels, including daily robberies and tickets for illegal parking. Rynessa Cutting has more.
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00:20Amid reports of shipping lines having ranked the Port of Port of Spain the slowest in the region, local truck drivers say they won't be surprised if it is the slowest in the world.
00:30This says truckers face daily challenges in getting goods loaded onto cargo vessels, including daily robberies and tickets for illegal parking. Vanessa Cutting has more.
00:41With international shipping lines allegedly dubbing the Port of Port of Spain as the slowest in the region, local truck drivers are weighing in.
00:51Does this come as any surprise to you?
00:54No, it doesn't. I'm surprised it's not ranked as the slowest in the world because somehow or the other, the Port, both the main port and the Tobago ferry terminal don't make any effort to see that the customers that they are tracking to do business with them is being taken care of.
01:17Chief among the truck drivers concerns is the fact that there is no accommodation for parking, leading to them having to park along Rison Road.
01:26Since this caboster came up on this side, the biggest hindrance we have is trying to get to the boat. Before that, we had a problem getting past the Hyatt. Now we come here and, well, I personally suggested to them what we could do to ease this, start to load the boat earlier.
01:46But for some reason or the other, they're saying that it's impossible. Although in the beginning, we would have started loading by 10 and a half, 10, and then they push it back to, now we don't need an hour to what time they're starting, so everything backs up out on the highway.
02:03Truck drivers say they've had to pay many a ticket for parking along Rison Road. And as if that isn't bad enough, they're being targeted by criminals.
02:13Apart from being ticketed, you are also being robbed. You understand? We have people passing, going in, the trucks hunting, while the truckers inside trying to get tickets. You understand? I mean, the service on the port is not of the best year off.
02:32Ferry passengers are also feeling the sting of inefficiency.
02:36When you come in, when you come in person, it's problems. It's two hours, three hours just to get a parking. Problem with the online, sometimes you go to the brokers, right?
02:44The brokers are saying that it has no more seats. They are full. It has no more tickets. When you come down here, you're getting the tickets, right?
02:51They're saying that it has seats. So I don't know if something not corresponding, something not corresponding, right?
02:57And then they're favoring people, then people getting tickets over you and wherever and wherever is the case, right?
03:03So we need to check into it. I mean, we're going through this too long, man.
03:07Cabo Star sailing, scheduled for August 17th and 18th, have been canceled to facilitate urgent repair to the vessel, which came off dry docking on August 3rd.
03:17This weekend is a very busy weekend in Tobago because of the Great Race Weekend. The bottom line is we need a new boat. And it's about high time that we get the sea bridge and the air bridge going and coming from Tobago in order.
03:36Renasa Cutting, TV6 News.
03:39However, the truckers tell TV6 when high-ranking officials complained about the service or even when our TV crew showed up, the service greatly improved.
03:48The Downtown Owners and Merchants Association is also attributing much of the port's inefficiencies to the workers.
03:54However, President General of the SWWTU, Michael Anisette, is disputing the allegations. He says the problem is a lack of investment in the port.
04:03The port is a capital-intensive industry, and you have to invest in equipment infrastructure to compete internationally, and we have not been doing that.
04:25There has been, I mean, a very frightening non-investment by the past government into the port-a-port of Spain, and we are hoping that this new government will understand what the real issues are, and they will do the kind of investment to give port workers the tools to work.
04:55That story takes us to tonight's PeopleMeter. We ask you, do you agree that there is a lack of productivity at the port of port of Spain?
05:09To vote, text yes or no to the number 766-4886 or 766-4TV6. We'll have the results for you at the end of this newscast.
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