Tugboat captain takes Dom Rep ship tour after bringing her in

When tugboat captain Euton Clarke was told on Sunday that his vessel was not needed to pull in the stranded Dominican Republic Navy training ship, Juan Bautista Cambiaso, he was left disappointed.

Disappointed because he had faith in himelf to be able to pull the ship to the shores of the Port of Authority of Jamaica’s dockyard in Port Royal.

Although the Juan Bautista Cambiaso is double the size of other ships he is used to, Clarke - who usually manoeuvres marine vessels by pushing or pulling them through direct contact or a tow line - just knew he was the man for the job, especially as it was just months ago that he had undergone training to improve his tug skills.

The Juan Bautista Cambiaso was expected to dock in Jamaica with around 30 Dominican Republic sailors on Sunday, and the sailors, most of whom were Spanish speakers, would have given tours on the ship. However, up to 36 hours after its scheduled docking time, it was still stuck in Jamaican waters due to wind and mechanical problems.

However, as fate would have it, Clarke, who also trains other sailors and captains, said when others failed to pull the ship in themselves by Monday afternoon, he was called to assist.

“After I finished class on Monday, my manager called me immediately and said, ‘Look, the ship need to come in, and they are requesting you to pull that in’,” Clarke, who is employed by Seaport Equipment Limited in Newport West, told The Gleaner.

He said the strong wind in the Kingston Harbour on Monday made the task more difficult and it took two hours.

“The breeze weh we a get now, if mi did a get that yesterday, mi wuda come in faster … . The weather was too much still, but we pulled through and did our best,” Clarke said.

“It was a new challenge. I liked the challenge as a captain. That builds my experience, so that little towing that I did on Monday, it taught me a lot,” he said.

The Embassy of the Dominican Republic had advertised free tours to take place on the ship on Sunday and Monday, along with a special cocktail party planned for Monday night with dignitaries and diplomats, which was planned to begin at 7:00 p.m. Clarke managed to pull the ship to shore at exactly 7:00 p.m., just in time for the start of the party.

Clarke said that after he finally pulled the ship in, he applauded himself and said, “Job well done”.

He also credits his crew members for pushing him when he had second thoughts and considered giving up.

“They were the ones who were encouraging me that, ‘Look, you’re a good captain. We know you can do it. Let’s go!’” Clarke said.

“One of them was saying, ‘The weather is too much. We cannot do it’, and I said to him, ‘Look, let us do this thing, man’,” he added.

He recalled blasting one of his engines at full speed and watching another tugboat and its captain, who had also been asked to help, diverting from the mission.

Even with the other tugboat’s captain fading away from sight, Clarke did not hesitate in continuing the task.

Clarke was among the numerous Jamaicans who toured the ship on Tuesday afternoon with his family when he shared his story with The Gleaner.

After the ship docked, the most relieved person on Monday afternoon was Angie Martinez, ambassador of the Dominican Republic to Jamaica.

Had the ship not docked, the cocktail party planned by her and her team would have been a failure, with months of planning going to waste.

Martinez told The Gleaner that it took her months to convince the relevant authorities to send the ship for a two-day visit.

“I am extremely excited about the arrival of the Dominican Navy Training Ship Juan Bautista Cambiaso to the shores of Jamaica. This historic visit holds great significance as it symbolises the strengthening of ties of friendship and cooperation between our two nations,” Matinez told The Gleaner.

Given the technical difficulties, the Jamaican authorities assessed the ship ahead of its departure from the island for two other stops in Panama and then Colombia.

ainsworth.morris@gleanerjm.com