The more than 430 Trinidad and Tobago nationals who are currently stranded onboard cruise ships in different parts of the world can now look forward to coming home in the near future as the Ministry of National Security has announced it will facilitate their return. 

Addressing the matter during Friday’s sititng of the House of Representatives, National Security Minister Stuart Young said this will be done via a schedule, in accordance with the capacity of the public health care system to absorb the groups upon their return.

He explained, however, that the solution would not be a simple one for the government to execute, given the nature of the requests made. “We have not been provided with breakdowns per cruise ship and the particulars of where these various cruise ships are located,” he said, later adding that “this task has  been challenging as we do not have individual applications but rather we have a blanket application”.

Nevertheless, the Minister sought to provide some ease of mind that processing has already begun. “We have been making attempts, for example, to locate six nationals on one cruise ship said to be nearby,” he said.