AS A SMALL ISLAND that imports the majority of goods it consumes, Barbados depends on the international shipping industry.
Its sea port operated by Barbados Port Inc. is vital for this purpose as well as enabling local producers to export items to the world.
When one considers the fact that shipping is involved in an estimated 90 per cent of global trade, much of it utilising the famous Panama Canal, it suggests that Barbados and some of its Caribbean neighbours could be missing on an opportunity to earn more revenue from shipping.
The Bridgetown Port has won several awards over the years, but one of the concerns observers have raised is the fact that cruise and cargo customers have to compete for limited facilities, very often to the detriment of one of them.
The major way Government has said it will fix this is through the construction of the new Sugar Point Cruise Terminal, which, as proposed, will allow the separation of cruise and cargo traffic at the port. Government said this move “frees present Barbados port facilities to expand and support ongoing cargo trades”.
But is this enough for Barbados, considering the effort other regional governments are making to improve their cargo facilities?
In the case of Jamaica, China has committed to invest between US$1.2 billion and US$1.5 billion in the development of a trans-shipment port in Jamaica, although officials said the location of the new investment was undetermined. Jamaica will also expand its existing port facilities.
The Bahamas is also improving its ports, a plan its government said was intended to “strengthen its position as the trans-shipment hub for the eastern seaboard of the Americas”.
The Bahamas Freeport Container Port is to be expanded.
Cuba will construct a US$900 million port, trans-shipment and logistics centre and container terminal at Marial Port in a project executed by Brazil’s Odebrecht, while Curacao will modernise its port infrastructure, including building two larger dry docks.
The Dominican Republic is investing US$150 million in its port facilities this year, including a US$15 million logistics centre. Guyana and Brazil started discussions for the construction of a deep water harbour to improve the movement of goods to the region.
Haiti is improving its port facilities as well, including establishing maritime shuttles, and having port concessions through government-led port reforms. Trinidad and Tobago is constructing a US$1.7 billion trans-shipment port and a US$1.2 billion ship maintenance and repair facility.
Based on several reports, all of this activity is being driven by the expansion of the Panama Canal, which is expected to be a boon for trans-shipment in the Caribbean and Latin America.
Drewry Maritime Research has predicted that there will be a double digit jump in Panama trans-shipment activity as a result of the opening of the expanded canal in 2016, and thereafter annual growth of around five per cent.
However, amid the port expansions, Richard Wainio, former chief executive of the Tampa Port Authority, recently warned: “We have too many ports in the Americas and there are too many ports that are developing container capabilities beyond what will ever be needed. There will be winners and losers.”
