Port Briefing

Cartagena, Colombia

As part of the port expansion project, approval has been give for the access channel to the Port of Cartagena to be widened and deepened. An agreement for the $60 million project was signed by the National Roads Institute (INVÍAS) and the National Financial Development Fund at the 10th Congress of the Colombian Chamber of Infrastructure.

The access channel will be deepened from 14.17 to 20.5 metres and widened to between 140 and 200 metres. This will allow Cartagena to received vessels of up to 14,000 teu or 160,000 dwt by 2018.

Half the cost of the project will be met by Sociedad Portuaria Regional de Cartagena (SPRC), the Cartagena Container Terminal and Sociedad Portuaria Puerto Bahía (SPPB) and the rest will come from public funds.

Montego Bay, Jamaica

Cargo Handlers Ltd (CHL) of Montego Bay has announced an investment in Bulk Liquid Carrier Petroleum Ltd, also of Montego Bay. CHL handles bulk cargo, containers, cement, lumber and steel. The proposed investment would double its revenue. CHL made a profit of $85 million in 2013.

St Croix, USVI

A memorandum of understanding has been signed by the Economic Development Authority, the Virgin Islands Port Authority and St Croix Renaissance Group to work together to develop a container port on the south shore of St Croix. The aim is to position the harbour as a large-scale international transhipment port. The proposed site is St Croix Renaissance Park, a 1,244 acre industrial park that includes a deepwater container facility. The government’s own cargo facility is next door and the two together would provide significant capacity.

Port Everglades, USA



Port Everglades is to be the homeport of Royal Caribbean International’s newest ship, ‘Anthem of the Seas’, its second Quantum Class cruise ship. ‘Anthem of the Seas’ is scheduled to arrive in Port Everglades in 2015 after launching cruises from Southampton. Port Everglades is one of the world’s top three cruise ports, with over 4 million passengers expected in 2014, and receives more ship calls than any other port. It is already the homeport for more than 40 cruise ships.

Pointe Blanche, St Maarten

The TelEm Group and the Harbour Group of Companies have joined forces to create the Caribbean’s first high-tech crew lounge, offering cruise ship staff a purpose-built facility in which to relax and make calls to their families and friends back home while browsing the internet. The new crew lounge is located upstairs in the harbour’s Cruise & Cargo building and was officially opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on 18 December by Sarah Wescott-Williams, Prime Minister and TelEm Group shareholder representative, and Ted Richardson, Minister for Telecommunications, Harbour & Economic Affairs.

Mark Mingo, managing director of the Harbour Group, said he was delighted with the new crew lounge and with the level of cooperation that had taken place between the two government-owned companies. He said crew members were an important group that should be catered to by the harbour and the destination generally because of their considerable spending power while in port.

Bridgetown, Barbados

Barbados is expected to handle 656,083 passenger arrivals in 2013 – 6.5 per cent more than in 2012. A further growth of five per cent is expected in 2014 based on bookings received. Barbados Port Inc hopes the numbers will pass 700,000 passenger arrivals, a figure last achieved in 2011. Cruise ship calls are also expected to increase from 356 in 2012 and 372 in 2013 to 395 in 2014.

This encouraging growth is being reinforced by five inaugural calls during the 2013/14 winter season. MSC’s ‘Musica’ will call with some 3,000 passengers. French operator Croisieres de France will arrive with ‘L’Horizon’ and will make 22 calls over the season with some 1,850 passengers per call. ‘Minerva’, operated by All Leisure Group, will make three calls with 335 passengers per call. NCL’s ‘Breakaway’ will make two calls with 5,000 passengers per call. And ‘Aidabella’ of Aida Cruises will call.

Pointe Blanche, St Maarten

The Port of St Maarten is expecting a busy 2013/14 season with 603 cruise ship arrivals placing the destination in the lead for the Eastern Caribbean. Calls include the world’s sixth-largest cruise ship, the ‘Royal Princess’ of Princess Cruises. The ship made its five-day maiden Caribbean debut on 29 October, followed by a programme of seven-day Eastern Caribbean sailings. The ‘Royal Princess’ arrived in in Florida on 27 October.

Port Canaveral, USA

Officials announced in November that a new $85 million cruise complex will be built in 2014 to accommodate the world’s largest cruise ships. The new terminal is expected to include a 1,400 ft berth and parking for 1,000 vehicles as part of a 180,000 sq ft two-storey building. This will be the port’s eighth berth, with three more projects in the pipeline to build four new terminals before 2025.

In addition, there are plans for a $9.7 million container terminal at Port Canaveral, expected to be approved early in 2014. The port handles mainly bulk and breakbulk cargo and is hoping to capitalise in 2015 from the Panama Canal expansion. Other projects under way include two new cargo berths and the purchase of two new post panamax ship-to-shore cranes.

Miami, USA

After several months of negotiations, PortMiami and the Port of Miami Operating Company (POMTOC) have signed a 15-year operating agreement worth an estimated $225 in guaranteed revenues. POMTOC has partnered PortMiami since 1994 and has long ties to the shipping community. The agreement comes as PortMiami attempts to strengthen its status as the gateway to Latin America with infrastructure improvements including a new port tunnel connecting the State Road A1A/MacArthur Causeway to Dodge Island; the reintroduction of rail freight services; and deepening of the ship channel.