After 18 months of delays and three missed target launch dates, the Barbadian maritime subsidiary developing a much-anticipated regional inter-island ferry service has finally secured two purpose-suited vessels to launch operations before the end of the year, Barbados TODAY can report exclusively.
Connect Caribe, a subsidiary of Bridgetown-based Pleion Group Inc., has been working for nearly two years to launch a cross-Caribbean service connecting Barbados, the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), and most recently the U.S. Virgin Islands, aiming to streamline both passenger travel and cargo trade between regional islands and the U.S. market. Shaka Jones, senior executive at Connect Caribe, confirmed the milestone in an interview Tuesday, noting that sourcing ships able to withstand the unique sea conditions of the Caribbean was the single largest hurdle causing repeated delays.
“This is not a simple venture to stand up; we’ve had to work through countless unforeseen obstacles to get to this point,” Jones told reporters. “We haven’t locked in a firm inauguration date yet, but our core mission remains unchanged: to deliver reliable, affordable movement of both people and goods across the Caribbean. We now have two vessels secured to launch the service, and we will share an official launch date with the public shortly. Finding a vessel built to handle Caribbean swells and sea conditions is far from straightforward, but we’ve finalized the selection process.”
The project has faced repeated timeline shifts since it was first announced. The original target launch was November 2024, which was accelerated to August 2024 following the announcement of new strategic partnerships. That deadline passed without launch, and a subsequent target of the first quarter of 2025 was also missed. Most recently, the company has committed to launching before the end of 2025.
In the wake of the latest milestone, regional economist and commercial pilot Jeremy Stephen, who has long questioned the financial and practical viability of the passenger-focused service, is doubling down on his criticism. Stephen, who operates intraregional charter flights, argues that the repeated missed deadlines are a clear warning sign of deeper structural issues with the project.
“I remain unconvinced that this service will work for passengers as planned,” Stephen said in an interview Tuesday. “Half of the year, Caribbean swells are too large to make sailing comfortable for the typical modern traveler coming to or from Barbados, unless the company invests heavily in high-technology airfoil-equipped vessels that can ride above rough seas – something they have not mentioned publicly to date. At this point, I only see the venture making sense if they shift focus entirely to cargo operations, which fills a clear gap in the regional market. For passenger travel, the distance and sea conditions make the model unworkable.”
The company has expanded its scope since the initial announcement, adding the U.S. Virgin Islands to its route network following stakeholder consultations. Under a public-private partnership with the USVI governor’s office, Connect Caribe plans to develop a central maritime logistics hub to streamline U.S.-Caribbean trade, making it faster and cheaper for Caribbean producers to access American consumer markets. Company officials have previously noted that adding the USVI hub will guarantee consistent full container loads, a key requirement for long-term financial sustainability for any private maritime venture. Longer term, the company still plans to expand its fleet to three vessels: an 800-passenger cruise-style ship, a 400-passenger fast ferry, and a dedicated cargo vessel to support regional trade.