By Mike Jarrett
Modern Caribbean regionalism started with Two Beautiful Ships
– Federal Palm
– Federal Maple
It is said that the British Colonial administration initiated an ‘Inter-Island Shipping Service’ in the Eastern Caribbean with chartered coasters in 1947 of which very little is known today.
Some 10 years later, when the West Indies Federation was being conceived, the importance of strengthening regional shipping appeared to be critical to the success of integration efforts. And so the Canadian government stepped in and offered to custom-build two cargo/passenger ships as gifts to the Federation. These two ships were named Federal Palm and Federal Maple.
Both ships were launched in 1961.
The Federal Palm was built by Port Weller Docks, Ontario. The Federal Maple was built by Vickers Engineering of Montreal.
With but minor variation, each ship was about 3,171 gross tons, 1930 summer deadweight, with the length overall (LOA) of 91 metres and speed of 14 knots. Each had capacity for 50 cabin passengers; 200 deck passengers; and 1,500 tons of breakbulk cargo, which was handled by two three-ton electric cranes, two five-ton derricks and a heavy lift derrick of 20 tons.
Smart ships
They were smart ships given the state of our ports and the prevailing technology, with very comfortable passenger accommodation and functional gear. I had the personal pleasure of sailing on the Federal Palm in 1968 as a student, returning home to Grenada from Jamaica, with brief visits to several intermediate ports.
When the ships were handed over to the Federal authorities in 1961, Furness Withy & Company in Trinidad was initially assigned to manage them. Later that year, the Federal Government passed the West Indies Shipping Corporation Act of 1961. That legislation established a statutory corporation to operate the two Canadian gift ships. It is my belief that when the Federation collapsed in 1962, the management passed to the West Indies Shipping Corporation which continued operating under enabling legislation of member states, specifically that of Trinidad & Tobago where the head office of the Corporation was located.
Despite the failure of the West Indies Federation, it was felt that the ships contributed handsomely to the development of regional trade, travel and functional integration during the 1960s and early 1970s. Certainly, the perceived value of the regional service grew with the initiation of trade and economic integration discussions in 1965 which lead to the formation of the Caribbean Free Trade Association (Carifta) in 1968.
This free trade association, Carifta, ultimately evolved into the Caribbean Community and Common Market (Caricom) with the signing of the Treaty of Chaguaramas of July 4, 1973.
Regional institution
Under both Carifta and Caricom, the West Indies Shipping Corporation (Wisco, as it became known across the Caribbean) was treated as a related regional institution. As such, it was positioned as a vital part of the integration mechanism, which required policy direction and development.
Under the Caribbean Community framework, the Board of Directors of Wisco reported to the Standing Committee of Ministers of Transport. The Transport Ministers from the member-territories met in committee twice a year. Those meetings were serviced and supported by the Secretariat of the Community.
Lost money
Wisco lost money consistently and had to be subsidized by the member states. They were not happy about the annual subsidies. In the early 70s, the Secretariat persuaded the Ministers to grant more discretion to the board and management of Wisco. Such discretion, it was argued, would allow the regional Secretariat to increase rates and charges as necessary; to pursue a development programme; and, to raise capital for that purpose. All this was reflected in the successor agreement establishing a West Indies shipping corporation and was ultimately adopted in 1975.
The Secretariat and the management of Wisco recommended that the combination of passenger and cargo operations in the same vessel was both dysfunctional and expensive. It was felt that containerization appeared to be the way to lower freight costs, and that the Federal ships should be replaced. Air travel was also beginning to make inroads into the passenger business thus affecting passenger revenues from the two ships.