The CSA’s momentous birth year

Looking back to 1970

It may not have quite matched the drama of the first moon landing in 1969, but it was still a momentous year and certainly one to remember. The Brazilian National Soccer Team – containing Pelé, Jairzinho, Carlos Alberto and Rivellino – beat Italy 4-1 in the greatest World Cup final ever played; soon to cease production, the Boeing 747 entered service for the first time and the aborted Apollo 13 moon mission held the rapt attention of the entire planet. This then was 1970.

But for just a few, something happened in mid-Atlantic Bermuda in 1970 that probably eclipsed all of those historic events. This was the inaugural meeting of the Caribbean Shipping Association (CSA). Many years have passed since the CSA was formed and most of those involved in the Association’s creation are sadly no longer with us and so some of the recollections of that historic gathering are now a bit hazy.

Gathering

Luckily and thanks to former CSA General Manager Stephen Bell, Caribbean Maritime has tracked down someone who did attend that first gathering in 1970 – Stephen’s father Robert. He still vividly recalls much of what took place 50 years ago and its importance for the region’s maritime sector. Planning to set up an Association is one thing, actually getting an organization off the ground is quite another. And it’s here that Robert gives full credit to the undoubted energies of Peter Evelyn (see page 20) who later become chairman of the Shipping Association of Jamaica and first president of the CSA. Peter sadly died in 2007.

Robert recalls: “Peter Evelyn was the conceptualizer. Working with him were Noel Hylton (later Chief Executive of the Port Authority of Jamaica 1975-2003), Michael Blackman (elected vice president) from Trinidad and Tobago, Roy Mendes from Antigua and myself. There was also a lady who was present who recorded all the notes and the minutes. Sadly, I can’t remember her name, but she did an excellent job. 

“This first (preliminary) meeting to put the AGM all together was done in Bermuda. After a couple of days, the groundwork a framework had been laid out for the formation of the CSA and for the subsequent first meeting in The Bahamas.

Looking back from 2020, it’s sometimes difficult to comprehend that the overriding rational for the formation of the CSA was to improve and modernize dockside labor relations across the region. It’s a topic that rarely gets seems to get a mention these days within the Association.

A new era

This was a time when cargo was being containerized and the number of dockworkers needed to handle cargo was being dramatically cut. As Robert puts it: “It was the start of the new era moving towards containerization so all persons had a need to educate themselves, exchange ideas and look at the various ways to upgrade their facilities and stay abreast of the changing environment. This included personnel changes and management practices while working alongside, and with, the various union leaders. This developed relationships between the various leaders on both sides that remain cemented to this day.”

But, as Robert explains: “At that time there wasn’t any regional shipping associations that were focused on the maritime interests of the Caribbean. In those days there was growing unrest between labor and management in the maritime sector. Jamaica had developed a two-shift system, a pension scheme and other procedures for workers. The aim was to bring the Caribbean together and develop relationships between management and unions along similar lines to those that Jamaica had been able to achieve.”

As to why a non-Caribbean state, Bermuda, was chosen for the preliminary meeting then Robert doesn’t recall. But the event attracted between 40 to 50 attendees so Bermuda did not prove any kind of impediment in terms of attendance. “Most of the Caribbean nations sent representatives, including Guyana,” he says.

One firm decision made at the gathering in 1970 was to henceforth hold a meeting of the CSA each and every year. And, so, 50 years later an AGM should have taken place in San Juan to mark this anniversary – until the coronavirus pandemic put paid to any hopes of such a celebration.

Founding members

The countries listed in 1971 as the founding members of the CSA were: Barbados, Bermuda, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Montserrat, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago. At the first Annual General Meeting, in Nassau, The Bahamas, on 19 October 1971, the representatives from these countries along with those from Antigua & Barbuda, The Bahamas and St Vincent and the Grenadines were admitted to membership. In its early years, the CSA concentrated on exchanging views on areas of common interest and producing reports on industry practices and port development in the region. Comprehensive technical papers were presented on subjects such as shipping agency operations, documentation within ports, containerization, movement and handling of refrigerated cargo, port management, port development and cargo liability.