The Bridgetown Port was awarded for its humanitarian efforts in the repatriation of thousands of crew members and passengers from cruise ships to their homes and the provision of port services during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Chief Executive Officer of the Barbados Port Inc., David Jean-Marie, received the award on behalf of the staff at the Port from Minister of Maritime Affairs and the Blue Economy, Kirk Humphrey, during an awards ceremony at the Port’s Cube Blue offices on Friday.
Mr. Humphrey noted that the Port and the Government of Barbados made a very big decision to ensure that the crew and passengers were returned safely to their homes at a time when the world was afraid, and “no one was touching these people”.
He added that the situation caused many onboard the ships to be depressed; take their own lives, and resulted in tension on families.
However, the Minister said Barbados’ assistance enabled those on the vessels to return to their homes and loved ones, and the country would now reap the benefits.
“I am very proud of the work the Port did to be able to move people, but I am equally saddened by the damage that was done to the reef,” Mr. Humphrey said.
However, he stressed that it would not be fair to “go after the ships and prove them to be villains”, but rather work with them and build out the island’s maritime sector to offer opportunities to young people.
“My personal position is this. I feel as if Barbados positioned the ships. They asked if they could stay here and we said ‘yes’. But before that, we said we wanted to help. They asked if they could be positioned in certain places and we got the places from the Coastal Zone [Management Unit], and we positioned the ships. They asked if they could go and come and we said ‘yes’. A lot of what was done was done in partnership and in consultation; we did not foresee the damage. Likewise, the ships did not foresee the damage,” Minister Humphrey stated.
He added that as a result of what happened, large ships will now be prevented from anchoring on the island’s west coast, and have to seek permission before doing so in the traditional Carlisle Bay.
Those seeking to be on the west coast waters are now required to use the vessel’s positioning system to enable them to remain afloat without anchoring and damaging the reef.
However, the Minister noted that a study done prior to the situation indicated that there were no areas of “good reef” on the island. “That had nothing to do with the ships. A lot of it (the conditions on the reef) was fair and poor. There is a lot of work to be done to build back the reef,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mr. Jean-Marie indicated that the Port’s repatriation efforts involved the 600 men and women employed there who overcame their personal fears and concerns to perform a service to the visiting vessels.
He also disclosed that the Port had made advancements to become ISO 9000 compliant in the near future.