Issues, expectations, challenges in 2024
With the trials and tribulations, stresses and uncertainties of 2023 fast disappearing, to be replaced by new issues and expectations in a new year, the moment was ripe for bringing the needs and expectations of 2024 into sharp focus.
In November 2023 Portside Caribbean approached a randomly-selected group of Caribbean maritime industry leaders, decision-makers and corporate executives. The mission was to find out what were some of the issues and actions being regarded as priorities for 2024; and, what were the challenges anticipated at the corporate level but also across the Caribbean region.
Three questions regarding personal and corporate priorities were posed. Respondents had the option to respond to any one or all three. (See the December 2023 – March 2024 edition of the Portside Caribbean journal for the full report.)
Reproduced here are responses to the third question:
What would you say is the greatest challenge facing Caribbean ports and port systems in 2024?
Deniece M. Aiken, PhD
Attorney-at-Law, specialising in Maritime Law
One of the foremost challenges is the ongoing imperative for adaptation and resilience amid environmental factors and global shifts. The persistent threat of climate change exacerbates this challenge, manifested as rising sea levels and extreme weather events that tend to induce coastal erosion, thereby compromising the stability of port facilities.
The Caribbean is susceptible to natural disasters that impact port infrastructure; create operational disruptions and affect the overall efficiency of the sector. Meanwhile, the economic landscape is undergoing rapid transformation, marked by shifts in global trade patterns, evolving shipping trends and technological advancements.
Caribbean ports must navigate these changes by embracing new initiatives, including the digitalization and automation. The ability to strike a balance economic growth and environmental responsibility presents a multifaceted challenge that Caribbean ports must confront squarely in 2024. []
Andrew Astwood
Trustee, Shipping Association of Guyana
What would you say is the greatest challenge facing Caribbean ports and port systems in 2024?
Like many Caribbean ports, Guyana is at the crossroads of its development path and, as we look to 2024, one of the major challenges is building human resource capacity to respond positively to the demands of a dynamic industry that is constantly changing. Also, in our rapidly developing oil economy, Guyana’s ports will be challenged to expand a range of offshore support maritime services in pursuit of improved effectiveness of the sector. []
Capt. Rawle Baddaloo
Co-Leader, Caribbean Marine Environment Protection Association
What would you say is the greatest challenge facing Caribbean ports and port systems in 2024?
I think there are two issues. The first one is, as vessels struggle to maintain the level of efficiency indices set, they may well bypass certain ports. The second and more important is the operation of the single electronic window. Everyone seems to be cooperating except some statutory bodies. We need to take a page from Guadeloupe’s book and have cargo clearances in minutes. I feel there might be an extension of the January 2024 deadline. When I attended the recent Regional Heads of Maritime Administration conference, there was a clear gap in time before most states could be ready and there didn’t seem to be a push of urgency. []
Valrie Campbell
General Manager Group Operations, Kingston Wharves Ltd. (Jamaica)
What would you say is the greatest challenge facing Caribbean ports and port systems in 2024?
Ports in the Caribbean and other Small Island Developing States will be challenged with how to chart a sustainable course in a highly uncertain and volatile environment. Amidst the uncertainties, in order to boost resilience, these ports will need to formulate strategies to achieve the optimum balance between investments in critical infrastructure, accelerated use of technological systems to improve efficiency while implementing environmental sustainability programmes. []
Rhett Chee Ping
Managing Director, Gordon Grant & Co. Ltd. (Trinidad and Tobago)
What would you say is the greatest challenge facing Caribbean ports and port systems in 2024?
I see the greatest challenge as climate-related issues.
Caribbean ports must develop their infrastructure and disaster preparedness capabilities. []
Juan Carlos Croston
V .P., Marketing & Corporate Affairs, Manzanillo International Terminal (Panama S.A.)
What would you say is the greatest challenge facing Caribbean ports and port systems in 2024?
Hands down, climate change. Whether it’s weather adaptation and/or energy transition, the Caribbean region needs to continue (or start) working on these huge challenges right away; and also find the resources to pay for it. []
Ethan James
CEO, Green Energy Management (Antigua)
What would you say is the greatest challenge facing Caribbean ports and port systems in 2024?
We perceive two significant challenges facing Caribbean ports in 2024:
- Introducing shore power to increase the air quality in port communities, especially in home porting venues.
- Forging strategic partnerships with their ocean-faring customers to maximize their respective CII ratings and maintain better compliance with MARPOL. []
Denise Lyn Fatt
Managing Director, Freight Handlers Ltd. (Jamaica)
What would you say is the greatest challenge facing Caribbean ports and port systems in 2024?
Modernization of Customs legislation within the Caribbean; and, Connectivity in the Caribbean. It is difficult to move Less than Container Load (LCL) shipments within the Caribbean, due to the fact that there are few services available to move cargo by ocean to other Caribbean Islands. (Seaboard Marine offers service between Kingston and Port Of Spain; or, Kingston and Miami.) This is one of the hindrances from being able to offer a hub service to move cargo expeditiously within the Caribbean. Air service is available but not regularly for cargo. []
Roland Malins-Smith
Managing Partner, Malins-Smith Associates (Florida)
What would you say is the greatest challenge facing Caribbean ports and port systems in 2024?
The ports are not all in the same boat in terms of their common problems and issues. But, for many of them, securing sustained formal and informal support from government and community for their programme of digitalization will continue to be a challenge in the coming year.
Keeping pace with improvements in trade facilitation with the employment of port community systems will be a requirement of port users local and foreign. Too often local customs as well as private port users are over-protective of their data and traditional authority over the paper process. []
Glenn Roach
General Secretary, Port Management Association of the Caribbean (PMAC)
What do you regard as the greatest challenge facing Caribbean ports in 2024?
A significant challenge to a number of smaller Caribbean ports is meeting the January 2024 deadline set by the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) for mandatory implementation of the Maritime Single Window. []
Randolph E. Rochester
C.E.O., Stevedoring Services Limited (Bermuda)
What do you regard as the greatest challenge facing Caribbean ports in 2024?
I believe competing on the global stage for goods (since we are such a small player – and so isolated in some cases) could have a negative impact on end cost to consumers. []
Desmond Sears
Executive Director, Delmur Co. Inc., (Guyana)
What would you say is the greatest challenge facing Caribbean ports and port systems in 2024?
To diversify business in the other sectors such as road construction. Some investment is needed in the automation systems at the terminals to allow for more efficient dispatch of cargo vessels. []
Sonja Voisin
President, Shipping Association of Trinidad and Tobago (SATT)
What would you say is the greatest challenge facing Caribbean ports and port systems in 2024?
Poor Maintenance and productivity continue to be the greatest challenges. Additionally, achieving more modern processes by way of digitalization, that is, becoming a paperless environment. []
First published: December 12, 2023
* FULL TEXT OF QUESTIONAIRE RESPONSES – pages 12 – 14
* Editorial note: Comments were requested from an equal number of men and women.
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