Saipan Stevedore president Norman Tenorio said in interview yesterday that four to five cargoes were at the Saipan seaport ready to be shipped to Tinian.
He said they want to lease Tinian Stevedore’s equipment, at least for now, so Saipan Stevedore can “take care of the problem.”
According to Tenorio, “We’re not getting any cooperation from Tinian because they want to sell the equipment instead.”
But in a separate interview, Rep. Trenton B. Conner, co-owner of Tinian Stevedore Inc., said he and his former partner have already complied with Saipan Stevedore’s request.
“We have made a consideration to accommodate their request to lease our equipment because we know there are cargoes waiting at the Saipan seaport,” said Conner, R-Tinian.
Tinian Stevedore, which shut down two months ago, has a crane and a forklift — basic equipment for providing stevedore services.
Tenorio said they need this equipment.
“We are trying to solve the problem right now because the cargoes are waiting at the dock,” he said, adding that once Tinian Stevedore agrees to lease them the equipment, “we can ship right away.”
Conner said the issue is not really whether to lease or sell their equipment.
Saipan Stevedore, he added, wants an exclusive agreement with the Commonwealth Ports Authority.
Sablan earlier urged Tenorio to provide Tinian with stevedore services at least on a temporary basis.
Sablan also vowed to give “whatever assistance we might, in order to facilitate a temporary solution to this emerging crisis.”
Conner said Tinian Stevedore had to shut down because there were not enough cargoes coming in. This, he added, was compounded by the existence of smaller boats that also transported cargoes to the island.
