Pirates of the Caribbean back in SVG

Watch out St. Vincent and the Grenadines, some pirates are heading your way. But you don’t have to be scared; they are not going to jump on your boats and stick you up with guns. It will be the second filming of the “Pirates of the Caribbean”.

The full-length adventure movie generated intense international attention and catapulted the nation into the global spotlight while filming here in February 2003.{{more}}

It engendered a bout of economic activity, which left the nation strained to provide amenities to take care of the influx of participants in the exercise. The film, set in the Caribbean Sea in the 17th century, went on to enjoy rave reviews worldwide and served as a means of promotion for this nation.

Actors Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Geoffrey Rush, Jack Davenport and Jonathan Price all played starring roles in the movie. It was a Walt Disney film with director Gore Verbinski, producer Jerry Bruckheimer and written by Jay Wolpert, Stuart Beattie, Terry Rossio and Ted Elliot.

Now Tourism and Culture Minister Rene Baptiste has spoken of the filming of Part Two while contributing to debate at the House of Assembly sitting Tuesday, October 12.

Baptiste said the return will be another boost to the country’s fortunes. She spoke of preparations for the second filming, and echoed that the first aspect was an “overwhelming success”.

Against the background of the return of the moviemakers, the minister appealed to the nation to desist from criminal action. She urged the nation to “resolve conflict by means other than violence”.

She also pointed out that competition for cruise- and land-based tourism was keen, hence the reason citizens must ensure the typical Vincentian welcome to visitors.

The parliamentary representative for West Kingstown, who enjoyed success in her first outing in the March 28, 2001 election, noted that petty crimes were being perpetrated especially against yachts, and warned that the Coast Guard would be stepping up surveillance nationwide.