And, to make the old system of raw sugar production and transportation more cost effective and efficient, they've also purchased a new 1.2 million dollar tug boat. The 1.2 million dollar vessell arrived in the country last week Monday. Built in 1980 in Louisiana the "Crosby Pride", will now be renamed "Shuga Pride".

A release says this new tug gives the millers the capacity to haul more sugar barges at a faster rate to the ocean going vessels, which will actually transport it to Europe.

To appreciate why this new tug boat is so important, you'd need to understand how sugar moves from the mill at Tower Hill, all the way to the ocean going vessels which sit out in the waters in front of Belize City. The old tug boats are currently hauling sugar barges about 122 miles up the New River and down to Caribbean coast to get to Belize City.

The smaller tugs can only pull 4 barges filled with sugar at a time. The new tug can pull 8 barges, which automatically doubles the output of work it can do for the local handling of the raw sugar produce. But, because it is bigger, it will have to operate out in the Caribbean Sea, and not in the New River, like the tugs that are currently being used. So, "Shuga Pride" will be participating in 100 miles of that journey to Belize City.

The hope is that with this new tug, the costs to transport the sugar down to the Ocean going vessels will be less, since they will have to wait less time for all the export sugar to arrive and be loaded. We're told that there is a part of the shipping costs associated with having the shipping crews wait for the sugar to be loaded onto their vessels. Less waiting time, means a lower cost.