By Claude Mills, Staff Reporter
The ferry transports persons from Kingston to Port Royal on a journey spanning three-and-a-half miles. - Rudolph Brown/Staff Photographer
MEMBERS OF the public won't have to 'wave' the ferry goodbye as an 11th hour attempt by Port Royal residents and Member of Parliament Phillip Paulwell to save the ferry has ensured its resurrection within the next two weeks.
Riding the swell of pro-ferry public opinion, the Port Authority of Jamaica (PAJ) has donated one of the 45-foot vessels to the community of Port Royal. A co-operative, which will be formed soon under the auspices of Member of Parliament Phillip Paulwell, will oversee operational responsibilities for the vessel.
A GIFT
"It's really a gift to the people of Port Royal from the Port Authority for them to utilise the service. We are going to start off using the ferry for three days per week, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays to help the market people, and if it proves viable, we are prepared to see a full resumption of the service," Mr. Paulwell told The Gleaner, yesterday.
"We had made representation to the Port Authority of Jamaica, and it was confirmed this evening (yesterday) that we will have use of one of the ferries by Noel Hylton, President of the Port Authority. I am very pleased about it," Mr. Paulwell said.
"We will be seeking sponsorship in the short-term, but it will have to be on its own soon because we cannot subsidise it fully."
Minister Paulwell unveiled big plans for the 'born-again' ferry.
"I want to transform the ferry into a Jolly Roger vessel, and have the people who man it dressing up as buccaneers," he said. "I want to use the ferry as a marketing tool to help kick-start the $100 million Port Royal project, and we are presently in discussions with professional investors to do just that."
What is the cost of one of the 45-foot ferry boats?
"I didn't even ask," he said, chuckling.
The ferry will return to the waters of Kingston Harbour within the next two weeks. After running for over 60 years, the ferry, which transports persons from Kingston to Port Royal on a journey spanning three-and-a-half miles, was slated to be phased out as of August 31 because the subsidised cost of the service eroded a whopping $12 million annually from the PAJ's coffers.
The alternative for the residents, according to the PAJ, would have been Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) buses, and an additional bus had already been slated to be added to the route.
"Well, that's very good to hear, praise the Lord for that, we cannot do without our ferry, I am getting old, and I would really have missed it. We still travel on it, it is beautiful to get it back," a 71-year-old resident of Port Royal, Monica Dahl, said. "I'm just so glad to have back the ferry. Praise be to the Lord!"
