THE sudden ban on yachties from purchasing fuel at a subsidised rate was an insult, captain Al Roper of one the world's largest and most famous sport fishing operations, Madam and its game boat The Wild Hooker, has said.
Roper said that government must get its act together and come up with a solution soon or else the tourism industry in Chaguaramas will suffer.
The Madam has travelled the world, fishing in the best blue marlin spots and holds more world records than any other sport fishing boat. It has been featured on ESPN and in sport fishing magazines.
Roper along with his crew and the owners of over 200 yachts were taken by surprise when the decision was taken last Monday to pull the plug on selling subsidised fuel to foreign flag vessels - a 17-year practice at the Power Boat Mutual Facilities.
Roper, a native of Louisiana, said before coming to Trinidad and Tobago he called Power Boats and specifically asked whether accessing fuel was legal. Roper said he was assured by management that obtaining fuel would not be a problem.
However after refuelling last Monday, Roper was confronted by custom officials who boarded the Madam and was summoned to the Customs and Excise division in Port of Spain. Roper said he was then informed that it was against the law to sell subsidised fuel to foreign flag vessels.
The Madam and its crew were therefore prevented from leaving Trinidad and Tobago until payment was made for the fuel at an international rate. Roper subsequently retained an attorney and was only granted clearance from customs to leave territorial waters yesterday after an arrangement was made to have money wire transferred from a US account to pay NP at the international rate.
For other yachties it is a wait and see game. But Roper said that yachties should not have to bear the brunt of laws that government has not enforced for years.
"It boils down to the government. A lot of people didn't know exactly what the law was, even when they said to me "you're in violation of the law" and we asked, "Okay, what's the price we have to pay, what's the alternative?" - they don't have one, so it's like they are telling us "You can't do this, but we don't know what you can do," he said.
Roper was adamant that it is unfair to assume that yachties knowingly broke the law by buying subsidised fuel.
"Yachties spend a lot of money, they don't have to break laws, they come here to have a good time and if you tell them fuel is at a certain rate, they'll pay it, whether you tell them its 96 cents or $3.50 a gallon. But if you tell them its 96 cents a gallon and they pay it in good faith and then you come back and say 'you broke the law, you have to pay this... that's an insult,' especially to people like myself who go out of our way not to break laws," he added.
He said it was important that government recognise how viable the yachting industry is in Trinidad and Tobago and said more time and money must be invested in the tourism industry.
For the past two weeks that Roper and his crew have been docked in Trinidad and Tobago, they have spent US$60,000 on fuel, food, repairs and provisioning of the yacht.
"I'm from Louisiana, an oil rich state, I know all about the oil business, government here has put a lot of stake in the oil industry and there are a lot of people who would like to see them also support tourism and bring back agriculture. Support tourism, not just the oil. The yachting industry supplies jobs, yachties contribute to the economy," said Roper.
