by Brian Major
Last updated: 4:25 PM ET, Tue July 9, 2024
The Saint Vincent and Grenadines government will launch a
fast ferry service operating five days a week between the capital of Kingstown
on Saint Vincent’s main island to Union Island, Mayreau and Canouan, all heavily
damaged last week by Hurricane Beryl.
The ferry will transport passengers among the four points
of the archipelago, departing Kingstown at 9 a.m. and leaving Union Island at 4
p.m. daily Monday to Friday, said Ralph Gonsalves, the Saint Vincent and Grenadines’
prime minster, in a July 8 national address.
The service will operate for two weeks after which it will
be “assessed” as a program of transportation, said Gonsalves. He said the ferry
should not be used for “disaster tourism” or excursions but should be utilized “to
connect families,” he said.
The importation of items including chainsaws, jack hammers,
generators, water tanks and barrels of supplies will have the normal duty
waived, said Gonsalves, who added the government has also established a 100 percent
duty waiver on all relief supplies.
Saint Vincent’s National Emergency Management Organisation
has said 98 percent of Union Island has suffered damage and “basically the
entire island with 2,500 people is homeless,” said Gonsalves.
In Mayreau, traditionally an under-the-radar vacation destination
for wealthy travelers, 95 percent of buildings are destroyed, Gonsalves said,
with similar numbers for Canouan. Gonsalves said as many as 700 houses may have
to be rebuilt on the three islands.
There is no assessment for Bequia, where estimates for
homes destroyed range from 20 percent to 50 percent. Gonsalves said the number
of homes damaged on the main island of Saint Vincent “will run into the hundreds.”
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