(Trinidad Guardian) As the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard (TTCG) commissioned their two new Cape Class vessels yesterday, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley urged the Coast Guard officers to utilise the vessels properly to cut down on human trafficking and the illegal gun trade.
Speaking during the commissioning ceremony at Staubles Bay, Chaguaramas, the Prime Minister said the officers have a duty to defend, own and explore T&T’s interests at sea from criminal elements. He said the horrendous accounts from local fishermen being attacked and trafficking victims are well-known.
“You are required to discourage that. You would have seen the amount of firearms on our streets and the effect that is having on our safety and our security, your first line of defence is the nation’s first line of defence. These are large crafts in so far as island nations are concerned but you carry on board the smaller vessels that can chase down and that can enter the coastal zones, make use of these facilities, you have good technology to determine who is around you, use it. You have good technology to strategise, to out think, and to outrun, those who are bent on criminal activity- do that,” Rowley said.
The two vessels- TTS Port-of-Spain and TTS Scarborough- were built by Australian shipping company Austal and partly funded by the Australian Government, as a part of a programme that assists islands with border security. Both vessels were delivered to T&T in July. The vessels are equipped to carry 27 Coast Guard officers and have the capacity to carry 12 additional people. They have a top speed of 20 knots and a 3,000 nautical mile range.
Yesterday, Rowley recalled his interactions with Coast Guard officers when he visited other Caribbean islands for work. He said he was confident that the financial investment for the vessels was in the best hands.
He said the officers on board these two vessels will be required to patrol and secure a quarter of a million square kilometres- or 50 times the size of Trinidad- during their operations.
“Our men and women with the charge and responsibility of protecting the waters, protecting us from comers who would harm us, whether they are gun runners, human traffickers, or contraband specialists, it is the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard that stand between us and them. From time to time we suffer when we are penetrated but just remember, it is not the easiest of tasks and it is the largest of areas,” he said.
The Prime Minister said the two vessels were now the major assets of the TTCG, allowing the Coast Guard to have an effective presence in the Atlantic Ocean.
