Another cruise ship turned away/Taxi drivers peeved
By Terresa McCall
Reporter - SKNVVibes
~~Adz:Right~~BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - MORE than 80 taxi drivers who were parked at Port Zante in anticipation of the arrival of the “Emerald Princess” left the area having made not even a single dollar, for the vessel did not berth.
When SKNVibes caught ‘wind’ of what was taking place, it journeyed to Port Zante where disgruntled taxi drivers were met.
Having sought clarification on what had transpired, SKNVibes was told that sometime after 7:00 this morning the Emerald Princess was approaching St. Kitts’ shores when, because of “very high winds”, it was forced to abandon the berthing process.
“We have lost a tremendous amount of money in this industry. Monday, when the cruise ship pulled out, I listened to the press conference and they claimed that the ship did not need a tug. I wondered if that is really the reason because, today, the wind is not as high as it was the day before. We had a small cruise ship in port yesterday; they tendered with their passengers. I went out on the tender and met those passengers.
They came off and did their tours. Today, if the boat could not have docked, why didn’t to boat tender? What is the reason for this? Somebody needs to come and speak to us. To date, no one has notified or spoken to us. We are losing a lot of money and we need to know what is happening. Somebody needs to talk to us!” a stakeholder in the cruise industry told SKNvibes.
SKNVibes understands that tour operators have lost as much of EC$300 000 since the first incident, where a ship did not berth because of “high winds”.
A taxi driver, who, on condition of anonymity, spoke with SKNVibes and expressed that since the first incident, where a ship did not berth because of “high winds”, his hope has turned into despair.
“There is always a down feeling. From since the first boat did not get to come, we are not hopeful because we don’t know if it will berth or not. It’s hard because taxi drivers have their vehicles to pay for. Some recently took out vehicles and they have to pay for them. When the boat turned back, some of the taxi drivers left to go to the airport and others went to the Marriott, but they are not likely to get jobs because those who get their first get the first job.”
SKNVibes learnt that between the Crown Princess, which abandoned the berthing process on Monday, and the Emerald Princess, which experienced the same earlier today, some 7 000 tourists were set to visit St. Kitts.
While at the pier SKNVibes saw Denzil Crooke, General Manager of Delisle Walwyn which is the agent for “Princess Cruises”, and when approached informed that he has no comment to give.
SKNVibes spoke with a stakeholder in the tourism industry who explained that part of the problem is the design of the pier. The stakeholder pointed out that the pier runs from north to south, complemented by the north-east trade winds that blow perpendicular across it.
Taxi drivers have expressed, “if the problem with the berthing of the ships is not the tug, but rather a ‘wind problem’, when will it be solved and how long do we have to suffer through this?”
