Port St. Maarten was represented at the Caribbean Shipping Association (CSA) 17th Executives Conference (CSEC) that took place in Fort Lauderdale, Florida from May 14 to May 18.
CSEC brought together shipping executives, industry leaders, port authorities and renowned speakers who addressed maritime issues.
“Port St. Maarten continues on its steady and affirmative road to recovery albeit being used by neighboring ports and shipping lines as a catalyst in this rebound phase we are in.
“Kudos were echoed by our partners within the region and international sphere by our responsiveness after the storm and our continued relentless efforts to regain full operational capacity at the Port,” Port St. Maarten said on Tuesday.
“There was a lot of emphasis placed on Disaster Awareness in particular lessons learned which couldn’t come at a better time to refresh the minds as we approach this new upcoming hurricane season.
“A half-day workshop was added about Disaster Awareness with representatives from industry leaders, ports in the region, and international shipping lines.
“Port St. Maarten continues to see double digit growth as the country continues with its rebuilding efforts. We expect this to continue and increase as soon as the various tranches of the recovery aid through the World Bank starts to circulate throughout the different sectors within the community,” Port St. Maarten Management added.
During CSEC discussion, key emphasis was also placed on the rise of ecommerce-based industries and how shipping is becoming digital as Ports are now forced to become Hi-tech savvy to be competitive with the rise of the digital age.
CSA was established in 1971 to facilitate development of an efficient, viable Caribbean shipping industry. Since then, the Association has become the voice of the region’s shipping industry and a major regional forum in which matters relevant to the growth and development of Caribbean shipping are discussed.
The CSA represents its membership in relevant regional hemispheric groupings, associations and organizations – governmental, multilateral and private sector; and maintains Observer status with leading Caribbean multilateral bodies CARICOM and the Association of Caribbean States.
Caribbean Shipping Association represents private and public-sector interests across the entire Caribbean area, including South, Central and North American ports; in all four major language groups – English, French, Spanish, and Dutch. The CSA uses English as its official language.
CSA membership includes 12 national shipping associations and over 100 individual member entities, including port authorities, terminal operators, shipping agents, shipping lines, tug and salvage companies, consultants, freight forwarders, leasing companies and others.
