BAE announces settlement with Trinidad and Tobago government over OPV contracts.

LONDON -- British defence firm, BAE Systems, Wednesday announced it had reached an agreement with the Trinidad and Tobago government following a two year dispute over the cancellation of a multi-million dollar contract for three offshore patrol vessels (OPV).

There has been no comment so far from the Kamla Persad Bissesser led-four party coalition People's Partnership government in Port of Spain that had cancelled the contract soon after it came to power in the general elections in 2010.

But late last month, Attorney General Anand Ramlogan denied a newspaper report that that the government was seeking an estimated TT$1.3 billion (One TT dollar = US$0.16 cents) to settle the arbitration following the decision to cancel the contract with the British manufacturer.

The Sunday Guardian newspaper reported that Ramlogan had gone to Cabinet requesting the funds to settle the matter and that there had been heated exchanges at the meeting that was chaired by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Dookeran, who reportedly "walked out, saying he wanted no part of the decision to make the money available".

The Patrick Manning government had entered into the contract with BAE for the vessels but the coalition government said the decision to terminate the contract was due to persistent delays and...