00:00The owner of Yachts Marketing in Tobago, Farouk Yata'ali, says inconsistent cargo sailings between Trinidad and Tobago are crippling
00:09his operations.
00:10He estimates losses of approximately $1 million, including half a million in a single month, due to delayed shipments and
00:18stalled sales.
00:20For the month, my business loses about maybe $500,000, half a million dollars business for the month, because we
00:27can't get goods.
00:28And it also causes a problem with us paying our bills. I mean, we don't have a turn around, a
00:35turnover of anything.
00:36So it is very frustrating, and our bills remain the same.
00:42Yata'ali says the uncertainty has left empty shelves, bills unpaid, and cash flow severely restricted.
00:50After 40 years in business, he is now considering closing his Tobago operations.
00:55I feel that the best thing, I think, you know, the best thing for I to do is pack up,
01:01sell out everything, and pack up and leave Tobago, because it's so frustrating.
01:05I have been in Tobago 40 years, and for the 40 years I've been in Tobago, we have the same
01:10problem, the air bridge and the sea bridge.
01:13It could never be corrected. Government come, government goes, THS change.
01:19New people in the THA, nobody seems to want to fix anything.
01:23He says disruptions involving the cargo vessel MV Blue Wave Harmony have worsened the situation, claiming shipments are frequently delayed
01:33and the trucks are often unable to secure bookings or are turned away at the port.
01:38The businessman says the uncertainty has also increased expenses, forcing him to send the drivers to Trinidad at additional cost,
01:47only for deliveries to be postponed.
01:50This situation from the 12th, whenever we did get a truck to go, whenever we did, because possibly in the
01:56whole month that we was out of our boat, I possibly get two trucks to go.
02:01And when that happened, you have to send a driver, move an item into Trinidad, can't come back here on
02:08standby, you have to sleep somewhere in a hotel, we have to pay for that.
02:11And whenever you go back on the port again, you get denied, you have to go back, wait again and
02:16then come to Tobago.
02:17In a media release on Friday, the Port Authority of Trinidad and Tobago says structured measures remain in place to
02:24maintain cargo movement between Trinidad and Tobago.
02:27The authority states that since the Blue Wave Harmony resumed sailings on February 10th, all scheduled cargo shipments have been
02:35accommodated.
02:36However, Yatali maintains that securing consistent transport remains a challenge for his business.
02:43He says unsold Christmas inventory has provided temporary relief, but warns the situation is not sustainable.
02:51From the 12th, we couldn't get a booking on a boat to send a vehicle to Trinidad.
02:58You can't get no booking.
03:00And sometimes when the suppliers want to send the goods to us, the people on the boat are saying that
03:06the trucks are too heavy, can't come.
03:10We had suppliers going to the port with our goods, packing up on the port and being turned back almost
03:16every day.
03:16He is appealing for urgent action to stabilize the inter-island cargo service, warning that without reliable transport, businesses in
03:25Tobago will continue to face mounting losses.
03:28Elizabeth Williams, TV6 News.
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