Port In Trinidad Denies Vessel Arrived Here With Dead Bodies

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago, January 31, 2020 (CMC) – The Point Lisas Industrial Development Corporation (PLIPDECO), today, denied reports, circulating on social media, that dead bodies had been removed from a vesse, docked at its port, on the west coast of the country.

The Port of Point Lisas is the second major port in Trinidad and Tobago and consists of six general cargo and container berths. The facility handles a variety of cargo, including containerised, break bulk, lumber, paper, consumables, dry bulk and steel.

Social media reports said that the vessel, the MTM Shanghai, had arrived, here, from China — where more than 200 people have died since the outbreak of the deadly novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) — with three dead bodies on board.

But in a statement, PLIPDECO, a public company — with the government owning 51 percent — said there’s absolutely no truth to the report on social media, adding also that while it is aware that there may be heightened concerns among citizens, due to the coronavirus, “the information is false”.

It said that the MTM Shanghai has not been to China, within the last year, and that none of its crew members were of Chinese nationality.

“All vessels that call at the port are closely monitored and, in conjunction with Immigration, Port Health and Maritime Services Division, had already activated standard protocols, once news broke of the spread of the virus”.

It said that as a result, should any situation arise, where it is determined that a vessel or crew members on board may constitute a risk, the appropriate measures will be activated, accordingly.

“No such situation exists, or has existed, since the outbreak of the coronavirus,” it said.

Meanwhile, the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) has warned against circulating “fake news’ about the virus”.

In a statement, the TTPS said that “there are zero reports of dead crew members at Point Lisas or any other Port in Trinidad and Tobago,” and MTM Shanghai is a “Singaporean vessel that before docking in Trinidad, its ports of call were Brazil, the USA and the UK”.

The TTPS said that the last time the vessel visited Asia was in mid-2019, and reiterated that none of the crew members were from China, adding that the crew came from Russia, Ukraine and the Philippines.

“Citizens are advised to refrain from posting and sharing misleading information that can cause unnecessary panic and anxiety,” the TTPS added.

Yesterday, Health Minister, Terrence Deyalsingh, said the twin-island republic would soon be restricting the entry of passengers from China, for a period of 14 days, in order to deal with the containment of the virus.