{"id":107784,"date":"2026-03-01T23:06:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T02:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shipping.einnews.com\/article\/896743267"},"modified":"2026-03-01T23:06:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T02:06:00","slug":"blue-wave-harmony-begins-regular-cargo-runs-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/2026\/03\/01\/blue-wave-harmony-begins-regular-cargo-runs-today\/","title":{"rendered":"Blue Wave Harmony begins regular cargo runs today"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The MV Blue Wave Harmony cargo vessel will sail from Port-of-Spain to Scarborough at 2 pm, Monday to Friday, this week, as authorities move to restore stability to the inter-island seabridge.<\/p>\n

The TT Interisland Transportation Company released the schedule over the weekend, signalling a return to some semblance of normalcy. Passengers will also be allowed to accompany truckers aboard the vessel. The ship will depart Tobago at 11 pm each day.<\/p>\n

The MV Blue Wave arrived in Trinidad and Tobago on January 22, ten days after the Cabo Star was withdrawn from service.<\/p>\n

The transition between vessels has not been smooth, as Tobago\u2019s business community, farmers and residents have complained of shortages of supplies on the island.<\/p>\n

The MV Blue Wave has been undergoing sea trials as captain Tim Fenech familiarises himself with the inter-island route.<\/p>\n

Full service was delayed due to mechanical issues with the vessel\u2019s ramp, and an incident near the Tobago jetty also resulted in damage to the hull.<\/p>\n

Minister of Works and Infrastructure Jearlean John confirmed in a WhatsApp message to Guardian Media that night sea trials concluded yesterday.<\/p>\n

She said the vessel has been servicing the seabridge over the past week with full cargo loads. John also visited the Port of Port-of-Spain twice last Monday to observe operations first-hand.<\/p>\n

According to the minister, there is no backlog of cargo at the port, as the Port Authority has been clearing the yard with each sailing.<\/p>\n

She maintained that the vessel, despite criticism in some quarters, is a \u201cbeast\u201d capable of handling the route. She added that sea trials were necessary to iron out operational issues and that a local marine pilot has been assisting the captain.<\/p>\n

John also said any shortages in Tobago were due to an insufficient number of suppliers serving the island.<\/p>\n

However, Chief Secretary Farley Augustine acknowledged disruptions to cargo service last Sunday, noting that the THA-managed Studley Park Enterprises Limited had been unable to secure a reliable supply of bitumen from Trinidad. He said the Tobago House of Assembly is considering compensating businesses for losses.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, the THA invited businesses to submit estimates of their losses between January 12 and February 26 to the Economic Management Research Unit of the Division of Finance.<\/p>\n

On February 9, Guardian Media reported that the MV Blue Wave had been flagged for safety concerns in 2024, according to the S&P Global maritime database. When asked last Sunday whether he was aware the database noted 28 defects between 2015 and 2023, Augustine said he had not seen the report.<\/p>\n

John dismissed the concerns, saying, \u201cSituations of this nature are not uncommon in vessel operations.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added that any detention of the MV Blue Wave would only be lifted after all issues identified during maritime inspections were fully addressed. \u2014 S NICHOLAS<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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The MV Blue Wave Harmony cargo<\/span> vessel will sail from Port- … the past week with full cargo<\/span> loads. John also visited the … , there is no backlog of cargo<\/span> at the port, as the … Farley Augustine acknowledged disruptions to cargo<\/span> service last Sunday, noting that …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-107784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107784","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=107784"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107784\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=107784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=107784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=107784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}