QCOSTARICA — Four months after the start of service, the ferry service between El Salvador and Costa Rica is suspended, as confirmed this Tuesday by the Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes (MOPT).
Verny Jiménez, director of the Ministry’s Maritime Port Division, told Noticias Monumental that they have not received a formal notification from the company, Blue Way Corporation, however, through a third party, they confirmed that they are in a “restructuring” of the business.
Jiménez alleged that if the company decides not to continue with the service, they already have been approached by Panamanian and Mexican companies interested in the taking over the route.
The news of the indefinite suspenion of service is no surprise in the industry. Just three weeks in operation, the ferry for loading goods between El Salvador and Costa Rica had already reduced its operations from twice to once a week.
The first ferry crossing between Costa Rica and El Salvador arrived at Puerto Caldera on Friday, August 11. It was the first operation from the Salvadoran port of La Unión, operated by Blue Way Corporation, represented in Costa Rica by Transmares.
Inicia operaciones el ferry entre El Salvador y Costa Rica.
Y después de ser abandonado desde su construcción, hace 15 años, se activa el Puerto de La Unión.
Con esta nueva vía marítima, el viaje de mercancías entre El Salvador 🇸🇻 y Costa Rica 🇨🇷 se reduce de 96 a 18 horas. pic.twitter.com/KRgQ8ebU1t
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) August 11, 2023
The ferry project, that aimed to reduce the land traffic between the countries, had been on hold since the Solís Rivera Administration (2014-2018).
In September 2020, Rodolfo Méndez Mata, the then MOPT Minister, signed a memorandum of understanding with the government of El Salvador for the project, which on paper mean the simplification of procedures and the improvement in the safety of the drivers, who would be able to avoid passing through unsafe areas (ie Nicaragua) of the region.
