Africa-Press – Cape verde. The maiden voyage of the ship “Nôs Ferry Mar d’Canal”, which was supposed to leave this Friday, at 3:00 pm, from the port of São Vicente towards Santo Antão, resuming the ship’s operation on this line, did not happen. For the operator, there was a purposeful action to prevent the ship from leaving.
The ship did not appear at the cabotage pier, continuing on the Porto Grande pier, and neither the majority partner of the company that owns the ship, Vladmir Ferreira, appeared to clarify the cancellation of the trip, according to Inforpress.
Later, the operator accused the Maritime and Port Institute of boycotting the ship’s departure, claiming that the entity had withheld all the documents, requested since the 9th, despite, as he said, they had promised that they would be delivered by 12:30 on the same day. .
“I spoke with Enapor and they told me that the IMP ordered them to block the pier and they did not release us. We went to the port captain and I handed over all the necessary documentation, we went to the IMP’s security department and did all that was necessary. The ship is certified and with all documents up to date and the IMP blocked it. They didn’t tell us anything and withheld the documents that they should have given us within 24 hours,” he denounced.
Vladmir Ferreira guaranteed that “the ship has the seaworthiness certificate and the crew”, but asked the IMP to “authorize three crew members to assume a superior role, because there is not enough crew in Cape Verde”.
The official explained that this is a “normal situation”, he also recalled that these crew members were authorized to work, previously on CV Interilhas and on other ships by the IMP.
“When I left the direction of the IMP I found the technician in the area of crew affairs who told me that the opinion was positive and that he only needed the ballots”, revealed the same source.
According to Vladmir Ferreira, he then went to the Port Authority, which belongs to the Ministry of the Sea, to ask for clearance, presenting the required documents and the captaincy was supposed to respond at 12:30 pm, which did not happen.
“There was a deliberate action to manipulate all the institutions to not let us out. That is, to boycott the departure of the ship. The captaincy did not explain why they did not clear the ship”, he reinforced, defending that “the IMP has nothing to do with the license issue, because “it is only competent to issue the ship’s and crew’s navigability certificate”.
According to him, “who must issue the license is a body that was created, but that does not exist, which is the National Directorate of Maritime Policies”.
“It doesn’t exist because the port captain said he doesn’t know where it is and who is responsible. In the ministry they also told us that they don’t know who it is and where it is, the director general of Maritime Security doesn’t know either. Where are we going to order then?” she questioned her.
However, for Vladmir Ferreira, “there is no need to ask for a license”, because “the decree number 28/2020 informs that “the companies currently registered are considered to have a temporary license”.
“If we would have to ask permission, the law had to say, but it says they consider themselves temporarily licensed. For what we don’t have to ask”, she claimed, maintaining that she took the ship to Cabnave, already did the best she could and everything she had to do”.
Asked if he ever sold tickets, Vladimir Ferreira revealed that when he saw the authorities’ intention “he suspended the sale” and decided on an inaugural trip in which people could go to Santo Antão for free.
Asked when the ship will finally start its voyages, Vladmir Ferreira said that the “boat will be on the line when the authorities want it”, but added that he has already requested a meeting with the Minister of the Sea, who is currently absent from work. Saint Vincent
Licensing
On March 8, the chairman of the board of directors of the Maritime and Port Institute (IMP), Joana de Carvalho, assured in a statement that “the ship should only sail again with the licensing of the National Directorate for Maritime Policy, which is currently the competent authority”.
It explained that on 27 November 2019 it ordered the cancellation of the registration of the company Naviera Armas Cabo Verde, owner of the ship Mar d’Canal, due to the fact that it had failed to carry out the activity for which it was registered because “the only ship they had was inoperative.”
Therefore, according to the same source, “it is not true that Naviera Armas has a temporary license for inter-island cargo, passenger and mixed maritime transport”.
However, the owner of “Nôs Ferry Mar d’Canal” reiterated the legality of the trip, considering that “the IMP was wrong to cancel the license of Naviera Armas based on the Maritime Code of 2010”. According to Vladmir Ferreira, “according to the new 2019 law, existing companies to date have two years to comply with the new requirements”.
For More News And Analysis About Cape verde Follow Africa-Press
