BASSETERRE, St. Kitts- A piece of history fell apart when sometime last week a portion of the Factory Pier located close to the port at the C.A Paul Southwell Industrial Site collapsed and fell into the sea.
The pier, which SKNVibes learnt has been in that location since before the 1930’s was used a means to load sugar on to barges to be ferried out to boats which were not able to dock at the pier in those days.
SKNVibes spoke with Reggie George, Manager of the St. Kitts Sugar Manufactory Cooperation (SSMC) who said, he is aware of the situation and feels that the damage to the pier may have occurred as a result of the strong winds and rough seas caused by the recent passage of hurricane Earl.
He said the Factory Pier would have taken a beating over the years from numerous hurricanes and weather conditions which would have weakened the structure and now causing it to fall.
George stated that the pier has been there for a very long time, having been built even before the construction of the sugar house since the early 60’s.
He added that while the pier is owned by the factory, it was not being maintained as it has not been functional for many years but many fishermen who did fishing in the area used it to tie their boats.
St. Kitts has been a producer of sugar since around 1640 until the closure of the industry in 2004 but is still referred to as ‘Sugar City’ .
