Devant wants ‘Integrity’ probe
Former transport minister Devant Maharaj is calling on the Integrity Commission to investigate the procurement process by the Port Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (PATT) for the inter-island ferry services between Trinidad and Tobago.
Speaking to the Express, Maharaj said the entire procurement process of the Cabo Star and the Ocean Flower 2 is “shrouded in secrecy and mystery, and the Port Authority has failed in providing the population with reasonably plausible explanations. Given the fact that this contract is over $100 million for a year, the commission must see the national importance of it”.
In a letter to the commission’s chairman, Justice Zainool Hosein, Maharaj said after having reviewed the information surrounding the provision of the ferry services for both the cargo and passenger vessels (the Cabo Star and the Ocean Flower 2), the commission must now use its investigative powers regarding the acquisition of the vessels.
Maharaj is claiming there were unsolicited proposals made by Bridgeman Services LP to the Port Authority regarding the lease of the vessels for the inter-ferry service, and questioned why the procurement guidelines of the Central Tenders Board were not followed as was done with the Super-Fast Galicia.
The Cabo Star and the Ocean Flower 2 were both chartered by Bridgeman Trinidad Services LP.
“June 26, four days before the PATT announced it had contracted the services of Bridgeman Trinidad Services LP, Bridgeman Trinidad Services LP purchased the Ocean Flower 2 from its previous owner, DAE Express Shipping Company Ltd. Essentially this meant to any reasonable person that Bridgeman sent an unsolicited proposal to the PATT to consider without having a vessel in its fleet.
“June 30, Minister of Works and Transport Rohan Sinanan and Port Authority chairman Alison Lewis, at a press conference at the Ministry of Works on Richmond Street, stated that Government has given the Port Authority of T&T (PATT) approval to lease two vessels, Cabo Star, and the passenger boat, Ocean Flower, to service the sea bridge between Trinidad and Tobago. The contract was awarded by the PATT via an unsolicited proposal from Bridgeman Services LP. Why did the PATT not adhere to the procurement guidelines of the Central Tenders Board as was done with the Super-Fast Galicia?” the letter stated.
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Image: Via Tsuji (flickr)