THE EDITOR: Caricom announced during the recent meeting in Trinidad that the people who live in Caricom nations will soon be able to travel freely between these countries, as soon as March 2024, if the recent announcement can be believed.

There are 35 countries in the Caribbean region. There are as many as 20 countries that are a part of Caricom.

What we lack are ships. It is neither logical nor rational that a large group of islands has no real interconnectivity.

The chairman of Caricom, Prime Minister Skerrit, mentioned that we must identify new venues that will advance existing initiatives and expand trade and commercial relations. These are wise words. This is exactly what a small fleet of ships would do.

In order to stimulate trade and provide economical transportation of goods we need reliable and clean ships. Specifically, we require five new RO/PAX – or roll-on-roll-off passenger ships. Regularly scheduled cargo and freight movement will stimulate all of our economies and provide additional revenue, create thousands of jobs and make this part of the world a better place.

Passenger transportation will be provided for those who want an inexpensive method of traveling in the Caribbean at costs that are 50 per cent less than the cost of flying. It is a lot nicer to travel by sea than by air. Imagine how much of a relief it will be when we do not have to depend on CAL or LIAT for travelling to other countries in our region.

There has been years of extensive research into this subject and the present positive economic environment supports this idea absolutely. Experts in many nations, and specifically Chile (ECLAC), state without doubt that this is a sound and financially prosperous concept. Imagine, a ferry that makes money.

Any new ferry must be environmentally responsible. Every politician has stated that they support a cleaner environment. Let’s see if they actually do something about it for a change. We should build methanol/battery hybrid ships or an LNG/battery combination ships. Hydrogen would be preferable but sourcing that amount of hydrogen may be difficult and costly. Any and all new ships must massively reduce their carbon output and be truly energy efficient. Well-built ships will sail for 40-50 years, and five ships will be needed in order to service the eastern Caribbean. If they work together, they will be interconnected and there will never be any extensive delays due to mechanical malfunction or dry-docking. The ships and their crews will all be 100 per cent interchangeable.

The fleet must also have conventional propulsion and have top speeds of 17 knots but cruise at 15 knots. These ships must be identical.

There are many factors why this is required and logical.

The world’s largest shipping company Maersk recently built 20 huge container ships that are all exactly the same. The navigation and engine room personnel never need to adjust to a new vessel, as all the instruments and engines are the same. There is also a very large cost saving in parts and maintenance.

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