Above: trucks transporting sand through the Plymouth Port (Photo: GIU)
By the Caribbean Journal staff

Montserrat has reopened its Plymouth Port, after a 15-year wait.

The island’s government has given sand miners using the port a 50 percent reduction on export charges, according to Premier Reuben Meade.

The pier had been out of use since the Soufriere Hills Volcano began erupting more than 15 years ago, but Premier Meade said the first day of shipping went smoothly.

Nigel Osborne, who owns Shamrock Industries, Ltd, said the company was not overly concerned about activity from the volcano, which was been in a “paused state” for two years.

Shamrock organized the shipping of 3,000 tons of sand from the port last week.

Meade said that using the port would allow the island’s sand mining industry to work uninterrupted by road works currently underway on the northern side of the island.

In the autumn, Montserrat’s Scientific Advisory Committee lowered the hazard level in Plymouth, allowing for daytime access to the Exclusion Zone.