{"id":13437,"date":"2018-03-13T23:20:54","date_gmt":"2018-03-14T03:20:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?p=13437"},"modified":"2018-03-13T23:20:54","modified_gmt":"2018-03-14T03:20:54","slug":"ablp-govt-to-buy-its-own-cargo-ships-to-reduce-cost-of-living","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/ablp-govt-to-buy-its-own-cargo-ships-to-reduce-cost-of-living\/","title":{"rendered":"ABLP gov’t to buy its own cargo ships to reduce cost of living"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a><\/div>
\"\"<\/a><\/div>

Accusing the two cargo liners operating here of holding the country at ransom an Antigua Barbuda Labour Party candidate Lennox Weston says his party will purchase its own cargo vessels in its new term office.<\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

The St. Phillip South candidate says the move will help reduce the high cost of living which is a major issue of concern to residents.<\/p>\n

Weston who is also Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Finance says the high prices that residents are complaining of, are partly the fault of the cargo operators.<\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/div>
\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

He accused them of using their dominance in the market to drive up food prices here.<\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

“But when we check the cost of the shipping freight from Miami and New York to Antigua, the two freight companies who bring our cargo charge us 3 and 6 times the rate,” he told a campaign event tonight.<\/p>\n

“They decided we\u00a0have no choice, we must use their\u00a0ships and they\u00a0push the price high. So it is cheaper to bring a container from China to Antigua than to bring a container\u00a0from Miami to Antigua,” he told supporters.<\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

“We will no longer be held hostage to these cargo\u00a0vessels,” Weston who is known for his outspokenness added.<\/p>\n

The ABLP will be “bold” and do what Caricom has been talking about for many years, “we will buy our\u00a0own cargo vessel.”<\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

“We will train our\u00a0nationals to manage and man those vessels. We will become the shipping line not only for Antigua and Barbuda but for the entire OECS chain,” he said.<\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

The ABLP candidate says that measure alone will help drive down the cost of living.<\/p>\n

“We will cut the price of cargo by half and reduce the cost of living. By simply being\u00a0bold and not being dependent on those individuals who hold us at ransom..we will cut cost of living between 15-30 per cent.”<\/p>\n

Weston says the government also plans to tackle certain charges implemented by the former UPP administration which benefit only a few.<\/p>\n

He said the move to crack down on those benefiting from those charges is for the realisation of lower prices in the supermarket.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Accusing the two cargo liners operating here of holding the country at ransom an Antigua Barbuda Labour Party candidate Lennox Weston says his party will purchase its own cargo vessels in its new term office. The St. Phillip South candidate says the move will help reduce the high cost of living which is a major […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":13444,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13437","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured"],"yoast_head":"\nABLP gov't to buy its own cargo ships to reduce cost of living - Antigua News Room<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/ablp-govt-to-buy-its-own-cargo-ships-to-reduce-cost-of-living\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"ABLP gov't to buy its own cargo ships to reduce cost of living\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Accusing the two cargo liners operating here of holding the country at ransom an Antigua Barbuda Labour Party candidate Lennox Weston says his party will purchase its own cargo vessels in its new term office. The St. Phillip South candidate says the move will help reduce the high cost of living which is a major […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/ablp-govt-to-buy-its-own-cargo-ships-to-reduce-cost-of-living\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Antigua News Room\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/antiguanewsroom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-03-14T03:20:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/WestonNew.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1366\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Editor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@AntiguaNewsRoom\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@AntiguaNewsRoom\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Editor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/ablp-govt-to-buy-its-own-cargo-ships-to-reduce-cost-of-living\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/ablp-govt-to-buy-its-own-cargo-ships-to-reduce-cost-of-living\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Editor\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/person\/36cac05ef6398fe56ae3e6317f8535c5\"},\"headline\":\"ABLP gov’t to buy its own cargo ships to reduce cost of living\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-03-14T03:20:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-03-14T03:20:54+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/ablp-govt-to-buy-its-own-cargo-ships-to-reduce-cost-of-living\/\"},\"wordCount\":370,\"commentCount\":21,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/ablp-govt-to-buy-its-own-cargo-ships-to-reduce-cost-of-living\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1366\/h:768\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/WestonNew.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Featured\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/ablp-govt-to-buy-its-own-cargo-ships-to-reduce-cost-of-living\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/ablp-govt-to-buy-its-own-cargo-ships-to-reduce-cost-of-living\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/ablp-govt-to-buy-its-own-cargo-ships-to-reduce-cost-of-living\/\",\"name\":\"ABLP gov't to buy its own cargo ships to reduce cost of living - Antigua News Room\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/ablp-govt-to-buy-its-own-cargo-ships-to-reduce-cost-of-living\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/ablp-govt-to-buy-its-own-cargo-ships-to-reduce-cost-of-living\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1366\/h:768\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/WestonNew.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-03-14T03:20:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-03-14T03:20:54+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/ablp-govt-to-buy-its-own-cargo-ships-to-reduce-cost-of-living\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/ablp-govt-to-buy-its-own-cargo-ships-to-reduce-cost-of-living\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/ablp-govt-to-buy-its-own-cargo-ships-to-reduce-cost-of-living\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1366\/h:768\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/WestonNew.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1366\/h:768\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/WestonNew.jpg\",\"width\":\"1366\",\"height\":\"768\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/ablp-govt-to-buy-its-own-cargo-ships-to-reduce-cost-of-living\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"ABLP gov’t to buy its own cargo ships to reduce cost of living\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/\",\"name\":\"Antigua News Room\",\"description\":\"News As It Happens\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Antigua Newsroom\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1080\/h:1080\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_1584.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1080\/h:1080\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_1584.jpeg\",\"width\":1260,\"height\":1260,\"caption\":\"Antigua Newsroom\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/antiguanewsroom\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/AntiguaNewsRoom\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/antiguanewsroom\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/person\/36cac05ef6398fe56ae3e6317f8535c5\",\"name\":\"Editor\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=96\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=96\",\"caption\":\"Editor\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/author\/editor\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"ABLP gov't to buy its own cargo ships to reduce cost of living - Antigua News Room","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/ablp-govt-to-buy-its-own-cargo-ships-to-reduce-cost-of-living\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"ABLP gov't to buy its own cargo ships to reduce cost of living","og_description":"Accusing the two cargo liners operating here of holding the country at ransom an Antigua Barbuda Labour Party candidate Lennox Weston says his party will purchase its own cargo vessels in its new term office. The St. Phillip South candidate says the move will help reduce the high cost of living which is a major […]","og_url":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/ablp-govt-to-buy-its-own-cargo-ships-to-reduce-cost-of-living\/","og_site_name":"Antigua News Room","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/antiguanewsroom","article_published_time":"2018-03-14T03:20:54+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1366,"height":768,"url":"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/WestonNew.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Editor","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@AntiguaNewsRoom","twitter_site":"@AntiguaNewsRoom","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Editor","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/ablp-govt-to-buy-its-own-cargo-ships-to-reduce-cost-of-living\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/ablp-govt-to-buy-its-own-cargo-ships-to-reduce-cost-of-living\/"},"author":{"name":"Editor","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/person\/36cac05ef6398fe56ae3e6317f8535c5"},"headline":"ABLP gov’t to buy its own cargo ships to reduce cost of living","datePublished":"2018-03-14T03:20:54+00:00","dateModified":"2018-03-14T03:20:54+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/ablp-govt-to-buy-its-own-cargo-ships-to-reduce-cost-of-living\/"},"wordCount":370,"commentCount":21,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/ablp-govt-to-buy-its-own-cargo-ships-to-reduce-cost-of-living\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1366\/h:768\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/WestonNew.jpg","articleSection":["Featured"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/ablp-govt-to-buy-its-own-cargo-ships-to-reduce-cost-of-living\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/ablp-govt-to-buy-its-own-cargo-ships-to-reduce-cost-of-living\/","url":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/ablp-govt-to-buy-its-own-cargo-ships-to-reduce-cost-of-living\/","name":"ABLP gov't to buy its own cargo ships to reduce cost of living - Antigua News Room","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/ablp-govt-to-buy-its-own-cargo-ships-to-reduce-cost-of-living\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/ablp-govt-to-buy-its-own-cargo-ships-to-reduce-cost-of-living\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1366\/h:768\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/WestonNew.jpg","datePublished":"2018-03-14T03:20:54+00:00","dateModified":"2018-03-14T03:20:54+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/ablp-govt-to-buy-its-own-cargo-ships-to-reduce-cost-of-living\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/ablp-govt-to-buy-its-own-cargo-ships-to-reduce-cost-of-living\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/ablp-govt-to-buy-its-own-cargo-ships-to-reduce-cost-of-living\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1366\/h:768\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/WestonNew.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1366\/h:768\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/WestonNew.jpg","width":"1366","height":"768"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/ablp-govt-to-buy-its-own-cargo-ships-to-reduce-cost-of-living\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"ABLP gov’t to buy its own cargo ships to reduce cost of living"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/","name":"Antigua News Room","description":"News As It Happens","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#organization","name":"Antigua Newsroom","url":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1080\/h:1080\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_1584.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1080\/h:1080\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_1584.jpeg","width":1260,"height":1260,"caption":"Antigua Newsroom"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/antiguanewsroom","https:\/\/x.com\/AntiguaNewsRoom","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/antiguanewsroom\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/person\/36cac05ef6398fe56ae3e6317f8535c5","name":"Editor","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=96","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=96","caption":"Editor"},"url":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/author\/editor\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13437","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13437"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13437\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/media\/13444"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}