TWO CRUISE ship companies have pulled out of Trinidad and Tobago because of a possible terrorist threat to their passengers, Trinidad Express Online has reported.
The two companies, UK-based P&O Cruises and its sister company, Princess Cruises, have stopped all visits until further notice citing a report from the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office about the possibility of British nationals becoming victims of a terrorist attack while in Trinidad and Tobago. William Ferreira, chairman of the Furness Group, the local (T&T) agents for both P&O and Princess, said he received word of the pull-out a few days before the Oceana was to have returned to Port of Spain on January 4.
This is the kind of eventuality that the Jamaican tourism and port authorities have taken steps to prevent, having recently implemented changes as it relates to the use and access to the cruise ship pier in Ocho Rios, the island's most popular cruise ship facility. The changes mandate that carriage operators be dispatched from a new holding area in the resort town, instead of the previous arrangement where they parked on the road leading to the pier.
The new requirements took effect on January 16, 2002, and are part of the new security measures being put in place at the island's cruise ship piers in light of the possibility of international terrorist threats. Operators will now be dispatched via a ticketing system to transport cruise passengers.
The Port Authority of Jamaica was mandated by the International Council of Cruise Lines, the International Organisation and the United States Coast Guard to implement new precautionary measures at all cruise facilities, to ensure the safety and security of cruise ships, passengers and crew. Since 9/11 there has been heightened security at ports worldwide and all ports deemed "sub-standard" will not be certified by the relevant international authority. Locally, there has been effort to boost safety and security arrangements at all the island's ports of entry for certification.
