Montserrat’s new government has not yet been able to secure a public ferry service from Antigua for the upcoming festive season, despite promises made during the campaign trail.
The update from Premier Reuben Meade means that, unless progress is made on the issue in the coming weeks, visitors and residents may struggle to access the island during the peak season.
In an interview on ZJB Radio on Friday, 6 December, Meade admitted he had not been able to meet his commitments due to various unexpected logistical challenges.
He explained that two companies had submitted tenders for a ferry service next year, but neither were able to commit to an earlier deadline.
Meanwhile, the government has had discussions with the owners of a larger boat, but this does not meet the specified regulations to transport passengers between the islands.
Meade told listeners that while the original options have not “worked out” discussions are ongoing on alternatives.
“We are not giving up, we are continuing to work, and we will be back at you Monday to provide a further update,” he said.
No success
In early October, the former government opened up the bidding process for qualified operators to provide passenger ferry services to and from Montserrat.
There were two time periods up for grabs – three months from February to April 2025, and two years with a start date of 1 May or 1 October 2025.
In his radio interview, the premier said two operators had submitted tenders, and he had hoped to be able to “call down” on one of them.
“But the earliest within their tender that they could have provided a service is 80 days, which means that they could not provide the service for Christmas,” he said.
Meade said the government also spoke to a private operator in Antigua, but their vessel is over 30 metres long which does not comply with the international maritime regulations that Montserrat is bound to.
“Although it’s a safer vessel for the route, it’s tied up in red tape in terms of other conventions that need to be satisfied,” he explained.
The government’s Access Division is also looking at smaller vessels, which he said are not, in his opinion “the best fit solutions” due to the passage between Montserrat and Antigua.
He said he spent all of Wednesday speaking with an international ship surveyor, maritime lawyers and other experts on the issue.
“We have not been able to deliver on our promises, and it is not for lack of trying,” Meade said.
Financial support
Meade told radio listeners that without appropriate access to Montserrat, the island may as well shut down operations.
“We cannot have persons come to Antigua, we cannot promote tourism, if people cannot get into Montserrat and get into Montserrat properly.”
He said the government is planning to ask the UK’s Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office to provide funding to support Montserrat’s operations.
“But if we cannot break the bottleneck in relation to the movement from Antigua to Montserrat, we may as well shut down the tourism department as well,” he said.
In March, former premier Joseph E Farrell assured the public that the government would be paying EC$17 million to retain ferry services for another year.
However, on 30 April, the government’s contract with the owners of the V2V Empress came to an end and passenger ferry services stopped running between Montserrat and Antigua.
Since then, the only option for public transport in and out of Montserrat has been on government subsidised Fly Montserrat and SVG Air flights.
Last month, Meade encouraged listeners to an interview on ZJB Radio to make plans to visit Montserrat this festive season as he promised to have access “sorted out”.
At the end of November, he said an agreement on a ferry service between Antigua and Montserrat was close to being finalised.
