at Road Bay
Two British Royal Engineering experts have submitted a preliminary report to Executive Council which, if followed, can prevent a catastrophic failure of the main Road Bay Jetty – Anguilla’s main cargo handling facility.
The Royal Engineers, Major Andrew Nixon and Warrant Officer 2 Carl Green, Head of Engineering Services from the Ministry of Defence, carried out a survey of the jetty between March 2 and 7. They have recommended after discovering some structural damage to the jetty, that caution needs to be taken by persons using it. “The damage is across the whole of the jetty,” Major Nixon said at a press conference on Friday, March 7. “There is damage to some piles and to some slabs; there is damage to some of the beams and it is in different areas of the jetty and a different type of damage,” he explained.
Replying to a reporter’s question, Major Nixon replied: “I just said to the Governor, if there was another facility where ships could be offloaded, I would certainly be recommending that this jetty was not used until the repairs are carried out. That said, if the recommendations on the way that the port is operated…are implemented, then the risks of a catastrophic failure of the jetty are severely reduced.
“Our recommendations are to change some of the operating procedures which will allow the jetty to be continued to be used at risk,” he went on. “It is a risk because if somebody was to hit the jetty then there is a chance [that it could break]. We don’t expect the jetty to fall over. It wouldn’t be a catastrophic failure. It would be a failure of a certain element of it unless, of course, a ship hits it at full speed.” He emphasised that the actions of some operators needed to be changed. “It is for engineering reasons that the recommendations we will be making, in a report, need to be implemented – and that will reduce the risk significantly of a catastrophic failure.”
Chief Engineer at the Department of Infrastructure, Mr Bancroft Battick, made the point that the Anguilla Air & Sea Ports Authority had regulations in place to regulate the proper use of the facility. “It is in the interest of the Authority, and the Government, to ensure that these rules be enforced to ensure the users do not destroy the facility by not making proper use of it,” he said. “As Major Nixon spoke about speeding, [if] you have a 40-ton vessel travelling at 30 miles per hour…that force transferred to the facility (jetty) destroys it much faster. Slowing down while [approaching] the jetty is not going to cost you more than a few seconds.”
Mr Battick said that while the jetty might not be in imminent danger of collapse, and remained useable, it was expedient to continue to assess its condition to ensure safety at all times. He explained that this was necessary taking into account the current volume and weight of cargo transported over it.
Major Nixon and Mr Green submitted their preliminary report to Executive Council on Thursday, March 13. A more detailed report and recommendations, including the cost of the remedial work and other matters, is expected to be submitted by the second week in April.
Road Bay is Anguilla’s main port of entry, and its jetty is the principal cargo facility on the island. (There is a parallel pier for cargo vessels plying between Anguilla and St Martin.) For the most part, the main pier is usually slow due to a significant drop in shipping operations but, in recent days, there has been a considerable amount of activity there. This included the offloading of a giant cement-carrying barge and the docking of other vessels which brought in a large number of Japanese vehicles which, up to Monday, this week, filled the compound of the Customs and Immigration courtyard to capacity. That day was also a busy time at the jetty, with the offloading of the container-carrying Tropical barge and thus heavy trucks repeatedly travelling across it.
Meanwhile, the Government has plans for a new cargo jetty and deep water harbour at Corito on the south coast of Anguilla. That long conceived project is however on hold, one reason being the need for large-scale funding.
