T&T Spirit passengers stranded for two hours at Scarborough Port after ramp malfunction 

Trinidad and Tobago: Passengers aboard the T&T Spirit were left stranded for around two hours on Sunday after a ramp malfunction prevented them to disembark at the Port of Scarborough in Tobago. The inter-island vessel had already docked at the port when the technical issue occurred and left the passengers unable to exit the boat as scheduled.

The passenger ferry reportedly departed the Port of Spain Ferry Terminal at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday February 1st with approximately 250 passengers on board destined for the Port of Scarborough when the incident took place.

According to the information by the port officials, the T&T Spirit experienced mechanical difficulties while en route from Port of Spain to Scarborough on Sunday morning but arrived safely at 3:32 pm with all passengers and crew unharmed.

The berthing was reportedly further delayed by wind conditions. The vessel has now been temporarily withdrawn for technical assessment and repairs which will affect upcoming sailings, said the officials.

It was added that passengers booked on the 3 p.m. Scarborough departure were reassigned to the A.P.T. James at 8 p.m., with customer support services in place at the terminal.

The Port Authority in coordination with the National Infrastructure Development Company said that sailings scheduled for Monday February 2 have been amended to ensure continuity of inter-island ferry services.

Under the revised schedule passengers holding tickets for the T and T Spirit 6:30 a.m which was scheduled to sail from Port of Spain will be accommodated on the Galleons Passage departing at 6:30 a.m. Meanwhile the A P T James will depart Port of Spain at 4:00 p.m.

From Scarborough, the Galleons Passage will depart at 3:30 p.m. and will accommodate passengers holding tickets for both the A P T James 6:30 a.m. and the T and T Spirit 4:00 p.m. sailings. Passengers originally booked on the A P T James 6:30 a.m. sailing from Scarborough will instead be accommodated on the Galleons Passage.

While sharing the details of the revised scheduled, the officials asked passengers to monitor official communication channels for further updates as assessments and repairs on the inter-island ferry continue.