Gibraltar Port 'training exercise' included paint-ball shooting in Spain

The Opposition say they now understand that the Government decided a few weeks ago to close down the administration offices of the port of Gibraltar, on a busy day, in order to allow the management and some staff to go paint-ball shooting in Spain. Quite apart from potential safety considerations, this caused considerable inconvenience to port users and local businesses who have dealings with the port on a regular basis.

Shadow Minister with responsibility for the Port Dr Joseph Garcia asked Minister Joe Holliday at the recent meeting of Parliament to say what the reason was for the closure of the Port Authority administration office in the afternoon of Friday 13th May and what notice was given to port operators of the closure. The Minister replied that the office closed “earlier than normal” on that day so that the staff could attend a “team building” exercise.

When Dr Garcia probed this further, the Minister could not say what the nature of the exercise was or whether it had taken place in Gibraltar. He said that operators had been given notice “by word of mouth” and that there was personnel available to attend to any urgent business.

NOTICE ON DOOR

However, the Opposition has been informed that on Friday 13th May the Gibraltar Port Authority administration offices closed at 1pm, according to a notice stuck on the door. Persons who went to transact business with the port were informed that the offices were closed “for training purposes”. The Opposition understands that some “training” had actually ended in the early afternoon and that the rest consisted of a paint-ball shooting excursion in Spain which the Minister referred to as “team-building”.

A list had previously been published in the port in which those persons interested in going paint-ball shooting on that day were asked to put down their names.

This was a very busy day for the port to have had a reduced staff complement. There were three cruise ships calling at Gibraltar on that day. The Grandeur of the Seas, the Star Princess and the Saga Ruby were all scheduled to make planned calls at Gibraltar. The first did not depart until 6pm, the second until 4pm and the third until 7.50pm. In addition to this, there were other maritime movements which took place for other purposes in the port and territorial waters of Gibraltar.

SAFETY AND SECURITY CONCERNS

It is obvious that if the Government wanted to pick a day for management and staff bonding at the port department they clearly picked the wrong day. Those left behind to man the port included the duty Port Officer, an operative and the marine crew while everyone else went to the paint-ball shooting. This situation has given rise to serious safety and security concerns given that the port was undermanned for a period of time that Friday afternoon when there were three cruise liners present. The administration offices normally close at 5.30pm. On this particular day they closed at 1pm.

Commenting on the matter, Shadow Minister with responsibility for the Port Dr Joseph Garcia said:

“It is not known whether Government policy now extends to organising social functions of this kind on working days during working hours. However, the Government must understand that this kind of thing gives a very poor impression to the maritime and business community. It is also frightening to think what could have happened in the event of an accident such as the fire that took place a couple of weeks later. The Government must review its policy in this regard as a matter of urgency.”