IN order to promote increased trade and travel within the Caribbean Region, ongoing research is being conducted to identify suitable vessel types.
This was disclosed by the Chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and President of Grenada, Dickon Mitchell, following the conclusion of the 47th Regular meeting of the conference of heads of government of CARICOM recently.
According to Mitchell, during the meeting of the heads, discussions on maritime and sea transportation for the regional collective were part of it.
He said, “we received a report from Antigua and Barbuda and its ongoing effort for Liat 2020,” and added that while he couldn’t give specifics, the regional bloc received an update.
Further, he noted that there is some optimism that the airline can begin to operate and provide additional service there.
Meanwhile, he indicated that there is an ongoing project to deal with maritime connectivity between Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, St Vincent and the Grenadines and as such, significant work has been going into that.
He revealed, “The key thing is finding the appropriate vessel. The idea is to start first with cargo because we want to certainly increase intra-regional trade and then ultimately the movement of persons as well.”
He reiterated that the biggest challenge remains finding the suitable watercraft that can accommodate roll-on and roll-off vehicles and the desired types of cargo for trading.
Consequently, he stated that this matter will be dealt with and the team responsible for it is persistently conducting research to achieve the same.
“If that happens, we anticipate that with the amount of work that has already been done, then the reality of this happening would then become more likely,” The Grenadian Prime Minister said.
In January of this year, CARI Cargo Inc., the company responsible for regional ferry service was established.
This was one of several measures undertaken by CARICOM states to enhance agricultural trade and reduce the region’s food import bill by 25 per cent by 2025.