A sleek new high-speed vessel is charting its course through Caribbean waters, and it is already being hailed as a game changer for regional travel.
The Topaze Express, a 400-passenger catamaran capable of reaching 52 kilometres per hour, made its debut in Saint Lucia this week.
The vessel is the latest addition to FRS Caribbean’s fleet and is expected to significantly strengthen inter-island connections while supporting economic growth across the region.
Matthew Beaubrun, CEO of Cox and Company, emphasised the importance of bolstering sea travel options, especially given the constraints of regional air travel.
“This is an important part of the business in Saint Lucia because with flights, there are limited air flights,” he explained.
“We realised when we didn’t have enough vessels what was happening, and the people and the demand were there. So obviously the company was very proactive and responded now and added new vessels to the arrivals and departures, and supplied Saint Lucia with some more interconnectivity.”
Beaubrun described the new vessel as a timely and necessary enhancement to the region’s transportation network.
“This would really help as an additional vessel for the connectivity,” he said. “And I’ve come to realize how important that is, the traffic between Saint Lucia and the connectivity between, because a lot of Saint Lucians and Martinicans and Guadeloupe and Dominicans come through the islands.”
He noted that the demand is not only rooted in travel convenience but in the web of relationships, commerce, and cultural exchange that binds the islands together.
“So definitely they need to have that connectivity for relationships and trade and also for tourism as well,” he stated.
Beaubrun praised FRS Caribbean for its continued investment in regional transport solutions. “It’s important FRS is investing in the product, which is very, very important,” he added.
With its high-speed capabilities and large passenger capacity, the Topaze Express is poised to play a major role in strengthening ties among Caribbean islands, offering travellers a faster and more reliable way to move across the archipelago.