Water taxis say tugs squeezing them out
More and more tourists and local travelers are using water taxis to get to the cayes, but more and more sailboats and tugs are also parking at the mouth of the Haulover Creek. Today the members of the Water Taxi Association who use the Marine Terminal said they are tired of being unable to maneuver their way through boats they claim are parked illegally. As expected, the tugboats say they aren’t the problem. Janelle Chanona reports.
Navigating through a small waterway bordered by other boats poses more of a problem for boat exteriors than passenger safety, but the management of the Marine Terminal says their persistent pleas have gone unanswered for too long.
Wilfred Tate, Chief Security Officer, Belize Marine Terminal
“When they pass through, sometimes they hit the streamline of the boat and they scrape it up and that’s our problem regular, everyday, every week of the day and we want to do something about it.”
Q: “Have you talked to the boat owners that are blocking the entrance?”
Wilfred Tate
“More than once. More than once we talk to them and they just do the same thing over and over.”
Janelle Chanona
“But the tugboat and sailboat owners at the mouth of the Haulover Creek say there is nowhere else to go. And in addition to the amount of boats trying to park here, heavy sedimentation forces them to lessen the amount of space given for the boats to pass.”
Q: “The people from the Marine Terminal are saying that the way the tugboats are parked inhibits them from getting into the terminal. Any comments?”
Jack Gill, Tugboat Owner
“That is not true. The wharf is open right now. Just turn your camera around behind and see the place is open, so they can come and go. If they can’t handle the boats, that’s a different story but if they can handle the boats, they have no problem.
If you notice where the center of the bridge is and where the sailing boats are that is where the problem is, not with these boats. We don’t stay here indefinitely, we just go and come all the time.”
Q: “Are you saying that the Marine Terminal’s location was badly chosen?”
Patrick Kisling, Tugboat Owner
“Yeah, Definitely. Definitely. They should go where the B.D.F. was. That’s a good place and they don’t have to dredge no place but they want to chase us from here and where are we going?”
Kisling says harbor law states that sailboats are to park two abreast… as seen here this is currently being violated. He says the problem would be fixed if the Port Authority monitored the situation on a consistent basis.
Q: “So what would be the solution to this problem?”
Patrick Kisling
“The solution for this problem is for the Port Authority to have somebody down here to see that these boats are tied like two abreast, two and then we’ll have a waterway.”
Until the problem is resolved water taxis will just have to spend more money on paint and hope tempers remain under control. Janelle Chanona for News Five.
Habourmaster of Belize, Captain John Watson says while some boat owners might have the impression that sailboats are only allowed to park two abreast, it is not a regulation. Captain Watson says a constable was sent to the area today and as a result of his findings, Belize Sugar Industries will be informed that their tugboats and barges must not block the waterway.
