KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent, Caribbean Travel Movement (C TM) has sought to “clarify” a situation that had emerged after it announced on Thursday a weekly ferry service between St. Vincent and the Grenadines and St. Lucia.
Earlier this week, the company had told the Caribbean Me3dia Corporation (CMC) that the Kingstown-based ferry company would provide the service between the two Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries.
But on Friday, a person claiming to be an employee of Bequia Express contacted CMC demanding that the photo of the company’s ferries be removed from the article.
CTM has since issued a statement offering a “clarification” saying it has been “in discussion with Bequia Express and a few other service providers for the chartered service early next year.”
CTM, which claimed to have been established in 2015, is legally registered, said on Friday that from initial discussions and date confirmations by Bequia Express, “the response was in the affirmative, hence why we mentioned their vessel would be doing the chartered run.”
CTM said that they confirmed with a named representative of the company “that it is OK for us to run the ads, showcasing the vessel so customers would know which vessel upfront.
“We are still in preparation mode and put the release out as a feeler for interested persons from the general public as our trips are primarily private.
“We were unaware that we would need additional documents from the government or any other party if the trips were to be on a weekly schedule. Even calls to both governments this morning confirmed that at present, we do not need additional documents,” CTM said.
It said that the “misstep” was that “we have not confirmed arrangements with the company’s local agent in St. Vincent as we have been waiting for a response from them for over a week.
“Here in lies the problem and miscommunication with the local agent confirming that she did advise Bequia Express to disassociate with us on the premise that we did not wait for her response,” CTM said in its statement to CMC.
CTM said its press release “did not mention Bequia Express specifically as we plan to use different vessels for our trips, more so because Bequia Express cannot be available for all the required dates.
“Additionally, some ferry trips will be cargo only, and we are already aware of the documents needed as we currently ship cargo between the islands.”
In its Friday press release, it did not name a replacement company.
“It is unfortunate the company chose to reach out to the media before seeking clarification from us. We would have explained that it was a miscommunication somewhere along the line and worked to fix the issue right away to avoid the crisis. The same way in which both Bequia Express and Caribbean Travel Movement sorted out a similar problem about a week ago.
“Caribbean Travel Movement is a highly young company run by young people like myself trying to make a difference in our region. We understand that we will make mistakes, there will be hiccups, etc. We will continue to pray that we are allowed a chance in this giant ocean where attempts at stifling a tiny organization will subside and others will consider love and unity first.
“I would like to take this opportunity to wish Bequia Express the best. We apologize for any inconvenience we may have caused. We have not changed position and would still like to work with them, providing they would give us a chance to do so,” said the CTM statement, signed by S.K. Peter.
CARICOM countries have been seeking to improve sea and air transportation in the region following the collapse of the inter-regional airline LIAT more than two years ago.
and then  has sought to “clarify” a situation that had emerged after it announced on Thursday a weekly){kind=link}