Caribbean Maritime – issue 40

www.caribbean-maritime.com

ISSUE No 40

JUNE - SEPTEMBER 2020

CYBER SECURITY

THE CARIBBEAN LIGHT

A RISK GUIDE

FIRST AID HUB PANAMA

CRUISE TOURISM IMPACT

PROFILE: C APT ALFONSO SAL AS TRUJILLO

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SHIP REGISTRY

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D I G I TA L I Z AT I O N

Caribbean Maritime is delivered to subscribers in biodegradable packaging to help preserve our environment Cover image: Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady, PortMiami

www.caribbean-maritime.com Issue No 40 JUNE - SEPT 2020

CONTENTS

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2 FROM THE CSA PRESIDENT

Ensuring survival in turbulent times

6 HARBOR VIEW PortMiami

8 PROFILE: CAPT ALFONSO

SALAS TRUJILLO 14 THE CARIBBEAN LIGHT

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18 CRUISE SHIPPING

The official journal of the:

caribbean shipping association

To promote and foster the highest quality service to the maritime industry through training development; working with all agencies, groups and other associations for the benefit and development of its members and the peoples of the Caribbean region.

CSA Secretary: Dionne Mason-Gordon Caribbean Shipping Association 4 Fourth Avenue, Newport West, PO Box 1050, Kingston CSO, Jamaica Tel: +876 923-3491 Fax: +876 757-1592 Email: csa@cwjamaica.com www.caribbeanshipping.org

Caribbean cruise: the impact

20 SHIP REGISTRY

MISSION STATEMENT

GENERAL COUNCIL 2019-2020 President: Juan Carlos Croston Vice President: Marc Sampson Immediate Past President: David Jean-Marie Group A Chairman: Nathan Dundas Group A Representative: Eduardo Pagán Group A Representative: Yuri Jardine Group A Representative: Sandra Casanova Group B Chairman: Anibal Ochoa Group B Representative: Milaika Capella Ras Group C Chairman: Philip Gray Group C Representative: Tim DiPietropolo Group D Chairman: William Brown Group D Representative: Juan Carlos (JC) Barona

Covid-19: Its impact in the cruise industry – the Caribbean light, by Nathan Dundas

How ship registries and others are coping during the pandemic

24 CYBER SECURITY

28

Vulnerabilities and cyber-attacks risks under Covid-19 pandemics

26 HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE

PUBLISHER:

The Humanitarian Hub: First Aid from Panama

28 ENVIRONMENT

Land & Marine Publications Ltd 1 Kings Court, Newcomen Way Severalls Business Park, Colchester Essex, CO4 9RA, United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0)1206 752902 Fax: +44 (0)1206 842958 Email: publishing@landmarine.com www.landmarine.com Views and opinions expressed by writers in this publication are their own and published purely for information and discussion and in the context of freedom of speech. They do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of the Caribbean Shipping Association.

– The Publisher.

The Ocean Cleanup part two

30 PORT BRIEFING 33 STARBOARD BRIEFING 35 RUSSBROKER CARIBBEAN

MARKET REVIEW

Smaller ships suffer but not only due to Covid-19

39 DIGITALIZATION BY ADVANTUM

Digitalization is the “New Normal” www.caribbean-maritime.com 1

FROM THE CSA PRESIDENT

caribbean shipping association

Ensuring survival in turbulent times W

e often take the connected nature of our world for granted, and nothing has brought this into sharper focus than the events that have unfolded since the start of this year. As we continue to grapple with the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic in our daily lives and business operations, it is abundantly clear that the tightly interconnected global environment has been dramatically upended in ways that we could not have imagined.

It is fair to say that at the end of last year, hardly any of us had heard of the Chinese city of Wuhan. However, by the end of January this year it quickly grabbed worldwide attention as the original centre of the coronavirus pandemic. In a matter of months, the world was almost brought to a standstill by this contagion.

SUPPLY CHAIN DISRUPTIONS The integrity of the shipping industry's supply chain has been placed under immense pressure, and we now find ourselves in uncharted territory. The economic uncertainties

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Juan Carlos Croston President Caribbean Shipping Association

emanating from seismic supply chain disruptions are being felt in international trade lanes, ports, factories and ground transportation operations, among other key areas.

Social distancing and the unintended consequence of the mandatory shutdown of various operations, has had a most severe impact on the cruise and tourism sectors.

The economic blows of the pandemic will

It is clear now in the age of coronavirus that the survival of any company is intrinsically linked to its capacity to innovate, create, anticipate and adapt start to show in the second quarter of this year, and we must be prepared for the fluctuation in demand, potential cash flow crisis and other repercussions.

Regardless of the time required to bring the pandemic under some semblance of control, the global implications of the supply chain disruptions will continue to ripple forward for months to come. This situation is a strong reminder of just how much we rely on our many stakeholders, and it is during tough times like these that we must strengthen our collaboration as well as our collective resolve.

WEATHERING THE STORM While prioritizing the health and safety of employees and customers, some companies have been able to continue doing business seamlessly because of previous investments in "virtualizing" operations to varying degrees. In other cases, we have seen companies scramble to avoid a total shutdown by acquiring technology and conducting online training to facilitate remote working. It is clear now in the age of

coronavirus that the survival of any company is intrinsically linked to its capacity to innovate, create, anticipate and adapt. Building this capacity is certainly not an easy task, but it will undoubtedly be worth the effort in the event of unforeseen catastrophes Looking beyond the obvious very adverse effects of the pandemic, we should acknowledge its role as a catalyst for business transformation. The current circumstances have validated the idea of reconfiguring work around people, and companies that have positioned themselves to use appropriate technologies, change business processes, methods and hours of operation with agility have been able to better weather the storm.

Therefore, it is in our best interest to pursue partnerships with institutions that can help us to successfully leverage innovation, while maintaining closer attention to the areas of disaster planning, business continuity and resilience.

SUSTAINABILITY The coronavirus lockdowns that have led to a downturn in global business have also had the welcomed effect of a decline in carbon emissions. The decrease in human movement and activities in the first quarter in countries like China, Italy, Germany, the UK and several other countries have experienced improved air quality as the levels of carbon dioxide and nitrogen dioxide temporarily fell by as much as 40 per cent. Many environmental experts consider a glimpse of what is possible if we reduce the human footprint on the planet.

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FROM THE CSA PRESIDENT continued…

In 2018 the IMO adopted a resolution to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from ships, which it sees possible through technological innovation and the global introduction of alternative energy sources. Their strategy targets a 40% reduction in GHG emissions per transport work by 2030 and pushes towards 70% by 2050, benchmarked against 2008. Consistent with the Paris Agreement temperature goals, the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee has set sights on the complete phasing out of GHG emissions across international shipping, starting with a 50% reduction by 2050. There is also a high degree of compliance with the new IMO 2020 regulation, which prevents ships from using fuels with a sulphur content greater than 0.5 per cent, unless mitigated by effective exhaustcleaning “scrubbers”. It is important to recognize the tremendous work being done in this area by shipping stakeholders such as builders, owners and operators of ships, port and terminal operators, seafarers, bunker suppliers, oil companies, energy providers, regulatory bodies and many others.

Despite the current challenges that we face from the coronavirus pandemic, it is imperative that we continue to ride the momentum to decarbonize the industry and avoid complacency. Some of the world’s leading container carriers have set the early example by announcing that the pandemic would not affect their commitment to reducing GHG emissions. Let us follow suit and hold fast to the overarching goal of achieving carbon neutrality in the not too distant future.

CSEC MOVES TO MAY 2021 The cancellation of the 2020 staging of the Caribbean Shipping Executives’ Conference (CSEC) was the only responsible decision the CSA could make after carefully considering the situation brought on by the global coronavirus outbreak. To the participants, speakers and supporters of the conference, we would like to offer our sincerest

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appreciation for your understanding. We look forward to continued support in 2021, when the conference will be held in St. Lucia, which was slated to host the event this year.

The conference will be greatly missed as a forum for sharing timely and useful industry information and knowledge resources. In its absence, we would like to direct your attention to our website as we continue to do our best to provide you with pertinent news and updates. Recent posts such as the list of technology-based resources to assist companies with maritime-related issues during the pandemic should be extremely useful at this time.

There is a great deal of uncertainty ahead, and there is only one way that we

can overcome the challenge – by working together. Whenever this crisis recedes, it is vital that we take a coordinated approach to fully reengaging the supply chain. By taking this approach, we can sidestep any inefficiencies or logjams that may result from efforts to ramp up the recovery as soon as possible.

The CSA remains committed to delivering value to our membership during this unprecedented time and new reality of social distancing. This includes strategizing to evolve interface across our stakeholder networks and incorporate reaching you virtually.

We hope that you stay safe and healthy as we work through this difficult situation together.

There is a great deal of uncertainty ahead, and there is only one way that we can overcome the challenge – by working together

HARBOR VIEW

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PORTMIAMI In normal times this is an image of which PortMiami would be justly proud – ten cruiseships in port at once.

But these are not normal times and the aerial shot shows ten cruiseships idle.

Credit to PortMiami and Miam-iDade County as lay berth fees for homeporting cruiseships have been waived.

'Our cruise partners have our full support,' Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez said.

Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady was scheduled to be christened in Miami on 19 March, but this ceremony was postponed indefinitely due to the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic and first sailings delayed until 16 October.

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PROFILE CAPT ALFONSO SALAS TRUJILLO

ALFONSO SALAS:

COMING THROUGH A CRISIS P

erhaps more than any other person in Colombia during the last 25 years, Capt Alfonso Salas Trujillo has been responsible for transforming the nation’s port sector and, in particular, the fortunes of the Port of Cartagena.

Now, during challenges times for many organizations, Capt Salas offers his thoughts to Caribbean Maritime as he looks optimistically to a bright post-Covid-19 future for the Port of Cartagena – not only for its container operations, but also for its currently troubled cruise business.

Q. Where were you born and where did you grow up?

A. I grew up in Neiva, Colombia, the capital of the Department of Huila. A midsize city located in southwestern Colombia.

Q. Where did you go to school and then to university? In which subject(s) did you graduate?

A. I went to the Colombia Naval Academy in Cartagena, where I earned a degree in Naval Engineering, afterwards I went to the US Naval Academy in Monterrey California, where I studied Electrical Engineering.

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Q. What was your first job upon leaving university?

A. After my studies I became a naval officer, during which I held positions such as Private Secretary of Colombia’s Defense Minister and Commander of the Naval School Cadet Battalion. After the navy I went to work for the private sector, where I held executive positions in various companies such as the Bolívar Electrification Company and Vikingos S.A. Q. How long did you serve in the Armada Nacional de la Republica de Colombia?

A. 12 years.

Q. Why in 1993 were you attracted to join the newly formed Sociedad Portuaria Regional de Cartagena (SPRC), which at that time had a concession to take over the former state-controlled entity that previously ran the port?

A. Before 1993, ports in Colombia were controlled by the state-controlled entity Colpuertos. During this time, the port industry had problems and barriers that hindered the country's competitiveness and foreign trade: labor issues, poor infrastructure, non-existent information systems and bad practices.

We dreamed of having Colombian ports

PROFILE CAPT ALFONSO SALAS TRUJILLO

on the same level as other important ports in the world, and started a revolution in infrastructure, technology and a cultural transformation.

Q. A year later, you were appointed SPRC general manager. What challenges did you face upon your appointment and what were your plans to improve the port?

A. 25 years ago, we understood that the most important thing to transform our port, was to educate our people, and thanks to this, the port is what it is today Initial studies showed that the maximum volume that could be handled by the port did not exceed 300,000 containers. In 26 years of operation we have increased storage capacity and operational productivity; we have implemented the systematization and agility of procedures; likewise, we have established a state-of-the-art security strategy and promoted the city as the main point of attraction for cruise lines.

Today we are moving over 3 million containers, and we hope to reach 5 million in the coming years, with one common denominator: the talent of our people.

Q. Over the years, SPRC has consistently proved to be one of the Caribbean’s most productive and innovative ports. For example, winning the CSA’s coveted Port of the Year award on many occasions. This seems to be a particular ambition, but has SPRC achieved its goal to become one of the world’s 30 most important ports? If not, how far away is SPRC from its target?

A. We continue to be inspired by the work we started in the 1990s to become the best port in the Caribbean. Being recognized by the Caribbean Shipping Association with its yearly award, and also being recognized by the UNCTAD as the number one port in Latin America in terms of connectivity and in mobilization of the country’s containerized cargo in the country is without a doubt a great achievement, but we will continue to work to become Colombia’s foreign trade platform.

The Fourth Revolution has challenged us to apply new technological trends to redesign our operational processes, reimagine our customer experience and

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develop new business models and to articulate organizational capacity towards a new phase of growth.

The axis of this process is people. People are the ones who transform business models, are able to create, innovate, build, invent, adapt, continue. Our greatest bet will continue to be people.

Q. In more general terms and in your personal view, what has Colombia got right as an economy over the last quarter century and compared with some of its better resourced neighboring nations?

A. Without a doubt the openness policy of the Colombian economy during the early 1990s. There is still work to be done to be able to be more competitive, increase our productivity and exports. We need to integrate Colombia into global value chains.

Q. What expansion plans to you have for SPRC and have these been affected by the current Covid-19 crisis?

A. The main thing is that we have taken a series of health measures to protect our people, that were necessary to avoid the spread of the virus and have allowed us to continue operating and executing our projects. The installation of 36 sinks at different points, temperature checks at the main doors to everyone who enters, permanent educational campaigns on prevention and protection for Covid-19, supply of masks, expansion of personnel transport routes and private transportation services for collaborators, so that the distance between people, among others, is maintained.

It is our duty to help maintain the health of our community and to preserve the standards and quality of the service. Reliability is everything.

This has been important for the economy of the country and the city.

From a commercial point of view, we have always had personalized work with clients, so that we listen to them, understand their specific needs and adapt the service accordingly.

Q. Sticking with the topicality of coronavirus, will this have any impact on SPRC’s total revenues in fiscal 2020 (that’s

We are always optimistic, as complaining is useless.

I’m sure that we will be able to innovate, reinvent ourselves and adapt to this new reality recently announced the start of two new services representing approximately 600,000 additional containers per year. We view this with great optimism, considering that these volumes will offset others that will fall.

October 2019-September 2020) which were reported to be USD 2.59 billion in the previous financial year?

A. This is an unprecedented economic crisis, the effects of which over time have yet to be determined. Statistics and history are useless today.

Given the reduction in cargo flows, first from supply (production centres in China) and then from demand (consuming countries), many ships have had to cancel their sailings and reorganize their service networks in order to cut losses.

The situation affects some ports more than others. Everything depends on important variables such as connectivity, the size of the market of a country, and the operating conditions of a service (security, reliability, efficiency and productivity).

In that order, we believe that Cartagena will come out of this crisis well. We’ve

Q. Are you also expecting to see a decline in TEU throughput in 2020 and compared to previous years and, if so, how bad might any decline be?

A. It is still uncertain. We cannot yet estimate all the implications that this pandemicinduced crisis will generate. A recession will be inevitable, and we’ll see a lot of changes in different aspects, Covid-19 has speeded up the technological leap in many sectors, as we’ve seen in education, and a change in port and trade logistics will be no exception.

Some volumes will be added that will offset others that will fall. We are always optimistic, as complaining is useless. I’m sure that we will be able to innovate, reinvent ourselves and adapt to this new reality. The fourth industrial revolution was already prompting a change in the way our industry operates. New technologies imply a paradigm shift and with Covid-19 that change is further accelerated. The future is adapting to new circumstances, constantly innovating and continuing to do things well.

Q. How is the current collapse of the cruise shipping sector impacting SPRC and the wider city of Cartagena which apparently benefits from more than US$40 million a year in income from visiting passengers?

A. This situation has had significant impact in the cruise industry. Cruise lines have cancelled their operations, most ports

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PROFILE CAPT ALFONSO SALAS TRUJILLO

continue with restrictions on passenger ships and the United States CDC maintains its No Sail Order until late July.

In Cartagena, the situation generated by Covid-19 led to an early termination of the 2019-2020 season, which signified 42 fewer calls and 76,493 fewer passengers, with and economic impact of US$ 11,675,277 according to the average spending per cruise passenger data of BREA. The situation is quite negative for the destination. During the nine months of the cruise season, formal and informal employment benefits from tourism. The segment ranges from tourist guides, taxi drivers, handicraft sellers, palenqueras (fruit sellers), museums and attractions, tour operators, maritime agencies, commerce in general, among others, up to the supply of fruit and vegetables.

The cruise industry will face a challenge of repositioning and rescuing the

negative image that has resulted from this situation, which will affect demand in the reactivation stage.

Q. Do you expect to see cruiseships returning to Cartagena during the course of this year and what steps would need to be taken locally to ensure that passengers could once again visit?

A. It is complex to make immediate projections considering that restrictions are still in force. Earlier this month cruise lines have announced that activities will be resumed between the months of June and July, however this depends on how each country handles their safety measures.

Despite this uncertainty, the Port of Cartagena continues to receive berth reservations for 2021 and 2022. In fact, 15 additional reservations have been received since March to date.

What is clear is that from now on the

Despite this uncertainty, the Port of Cartagena continues to receive berth reservations for 2021 and 2022 12 www.caribbean-maritime.com

industry faces an important challenge in the way it operates. For example, without vaccines or effective treatments, older adults who comprise a high percentage of the target market for cruise lines, will have more restrictions and special conditions. Due to this, the profile of travellers will change.

Regarding the operation, we’ll see important adjustments in capacity, which should be reduced to guarantee compliance with biosafety and distancing protocols. Cruise lines are currently working on the protocols, but this will mean a reduction in their capacity, which will directly affect prices.

On land, it will also involve adjustments to comply with protocols that are already being carried out by tour operator agencies, attractions, etc.

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THE CARIBBEAN LIGHT

Covid-19:

Its Impact in the Cruise Industry –

The Caribbean Light In rocky, dark and turbulent waters a lighthouse is a welcome sight.

A

By Nathan Dundas, director, Caribbean Shipping Association

s the cruise industry finds itself in uncharted waters, the Caribbean region stands as a beacon of hope and light for this vital industry.

A wise man once said: “To the making of books there is no end.” We can say the same with regards to the number of varied articles and comments on the cruise industry across the international online world.

It seems that everyone has a perspective on the cruise industry. There seems to not be a day, since the outbreak of Covid-19, that someone hasn’t written something on this topic; and it appears that cruiseships have become the ugly face of transportation.

The cruise industry haters and well-wishers have drawn the line and made it clear which side of it they stand. At this time everyone therefore knows by now all of the negative and positive comments on whether the cruise industry will recover or not, or which ones will go bankrupt or what form it will evolve into

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THE CARIBBEAN LIGHT after Covid-19 as well as every imaginable scenario going forward.

This article is not geared towards adding to any of those predictions, but rather to simply look at this industry from the perspective of the region that has the biggest impact on cruise tourism – the Caribbean region.

A fundamental fact that cannot be disputed or argued by any of the commentators is that the number one market in the world for cruises is the Caribbean region.

Tourism accounts for approximately 80% of all the revenues of some Caribbean countries and within that number cruise tourism can account for up to 80% of the visitor arrivals in some of those countries.

The biggest impact to be felt therefore is indeed going to be the Caribbean region which has more cruise visitors each year arriving on its shores than any other part of the world.

And we know the importance that cruise tourism has had on local stakeholders across our region. Thousands of individuals are employed in this vital sector ranging from taxi drivers, tour operators, vendors, duty free shops, shipping agents, ministries of tourism, port authorities and their staff, restaurant owners, bar owners, attraction sites, gas stations, small craft operators, service providers, hotels, airlines and we can go on and on.

REAL IMPACT These are real people not statistics whose lives are impacted in a real way from cruise tourism. It is interesting to note that when commentators talk about the cruise industry, they don’t ever mention the thousands of these people who depend on a daily living from this industry to provide for themselves and their families.

This dependency involves hundreds of thousands in the Caribbean region from this vital industry when we consider the spinoff of cruise tourism. We don’t hear the perspective of these hundreds of thousands of people reflected in all of the predictions of the cruise industry.

At the time of writing this article

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the Caribbean region is not as affected disastrously in the number of deaths from Covid-19 compared to Europe and other regions. We cannot predict the future so we don’t know how soon or when cruising will restart in the Caribbean or when the cruise lines marketing machines will start rolling again, but we are hoping that our individual countries will be ready and prepared.

Today as we all are still hunkering down from the effects of Covid-19, the silence is deafening from the Caribbean stakeholders as they worry about the future of an industry that seemed to have been secure and they have invested in for many years and for their future.

PEOPLE'S FUTURES We have a population of anxious and worried stakeholders in the hundreds of thousands who don’t know what the future holds for them as they engross themselves in any news as to the future of the cruise industry and their future as well. On any given day across the Caribbean’s popular radio talk shows you can tune in to from St Maarten to Jamaica to St Vincent to Trinidad to Antigua you will hear concerns expressed by local citizens.

A bright light showing the way forward amid the darkness is always welcome. I have been highlighting to several media houses in the Caribbean the role of two of our leaders primarily in giving hope to the Caribbean people.

Prime Minister Mia Mottley from Barbados and Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves from St Vincent and the Grenadines have both shown their character and mettle in their approach towards the cruise industry during this crisis.

I recall from the time that islands started to turn away cruise vessels over fears of spreading the virus to their citizens, Prime Minister Gonsalves was one of the first to call for calm analysis of the situation and for not going into panic mode.

Most outstanding, however, has been Prime Minister Mottley’s leadership and her approach towards the handling of this crisis in the wake of all the cancellations and

rejections of cruise ships worldwide.

Prime Minister Mottley announced publicly that Barbados, was willing to facilitate passengers who needed to use the island’s airport to be repatriated by charter flights back to their homelands. The Prime Minister went further by even allowing cruise ships to seek safe harbor and anchorage in and off Bridgetown and ended up having over a dozen cruiseships around the port which were well looked after.

One of the highlights as we are talking about light in this context was when the AIDAperla, after seeking refuge in Barbados for over a month, when about to depart for Europe lit up the Bridgetown Port with the words “Thank you Barbados”. It was indeed outstanding to see that while the rest of the world was rejecting the cruiseship this little island provided the warm hospitality the Caribbean is known for.

This is the hospitality and warmness with which we look forward to greet the return of the cruise industry to the number one cruise destination of the world.

A bright light showing the way forward amid the darkness is always welcome.

I have been highlighting to several media houses in the Caribbean the role of two of our leaders primarily in giving hope to the Caribbean people

CRUISE TOURISM LOOKING FORWARDS We are aware that many projects and investment were poised to start in the Caribbean to enhance the cruiseship industry and will now be put on hold.

However, we have hope that when the ships return to this warm and sunny paradise we will have millions of visitors to welcome.

The cruise industry has proven to be one of the most resilient in the tourism sector and no doubt will be making every effort to resume its presence in the Caribbean.

They can be assured that the local stakeholders even more than the passengers will be ready to see them sailing into the Caribbean paradise again soon.

Cruise Ships anchored off Bridgetown Barbados from Covid-19

The cruise tourism product will change as with most things after Covid-19, but we can learn lessons from this pandemic.

We have seen how the environment can

be improved so the sustainability of our cruise tourism is maintained.

We have seen the benefits of practices of good hygiene and health etiquette so we will supplement these benefits along with the natural friendliness and hospitality of our Caribbean people to even further enhance our cruise tourism product.

We don’t immediately expect the number of passengers or ship calls to be as large as before Covid-19 when the vessels return to operation. However, the local stakeholders in the Caribbean from all of the various chat rooms in various associations we have been monitoring are eager to work along with the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) and the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) to promote once again the paradise we have as the best cruise sailing region in the world.

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CRUISE SHIPPING

Caribbean cruise: THE IMPACT

I

t’s said you should never put all your eggs in one basket. But in terms of tourism that’s exactly what many Caribbean islands have done over the last couple of decades and, perhaps, with good reason. It seemed so much more profitable and provided much better job prospects than those endured in the past.

Now a heavy reliance on tourism – especially revenue from the cruise shipping sector – has come back to bite in the wake of this year’s economy-crushing and jobdestroying global coronavirus pandemic.

Until just recently, cruises were a global industry generating US$46 bn in revenues and with earnings flowing in from some 26 million passengers (and growing) a year. Now it’s at a standstill and so are the livelihoods of so many small companies and individuals throughout the Caribbean. And, at time of writing, with little immediate prospect of this industry getting fully back on its feet in the months ahead; although Carnival Cruise Line is tentatively aiming for 1 August.

The tragic situation is also likely to be compounded – at least in the short term – by a dramatic change of assumptions as to the value of the cruise sector. So instead of cruiseships being viewed as highly mobile and amazingly tax-efficient offshore-registered

SeregaSibTravel / Shutterstock.com

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assets, able to effortlessly side-step any hurricane or dodge any national, political or local social upheaval, these vessels were suddenly regarded as potential harbourers of disease – for both passengers and crew – and which few destinations actually want.

Let’s recall that this all started innocuously enough when Princess Cruises’ Diamond Princess was quarantined back early February by Japanese health authorities in far off Yokohama. It seemed somewhat inconsequential at the time, but this stranded ship soon became emblematic of the global health crisis as more and more vessels fell victim to the impact of Covid-19’s virulent spread – even when such vessels had no-known cases of the disease.

SAFE AND SECURE Yet it seems only yesterday, that cruiseships were the height of sophistication – a safe and secure way of seeing the world. Just now they are portrayed in a negative light and as a captive environment in which often elderly and vulnerable passengers have almost no escape from illness and infection.

Despite traditionally excellent on-board medical care, this may have always been the case, but Covid-19 has brought this apparent confinement on the high seas in to stark

THE EFFECT ON OTHER PORTS It’s not only Caribbean islands that are losing out. The Panama Canal – the activity of which makes up around 40 percent of Panama’s economy – is suffering from a drop in transits.

The US is not immune either. PortMiami Director Juan Kuryla said: “Every port in Florida is hurting. Not just Florida, but nationwide.” Miami moves around 9.6 million tons of cargo every year, of which a large percentage is to and from the Caribbean and Central America.

Added, to which its cruise business has totally dried up.

The past three months have also shown that when the chips are down, maritime and health authorities can act out of national self-interest contrast. And it’s an image that may take some time to ameliorate. It’s likely to require highly imaginative marketing and fire-sale discounting to get wary passengers back on board again any time soon.

The past three months has also shown that when the chips are down, maritime and health authorities can act out of national self-interest and prevent cruiseships from operating freely and unhindered. This has happened on a global scale as ships have been denied entry to ports. And in this regard few destinations have emerged with much credit. There have, of course, been notable exceptions, such as the case of Barbados.

Then there is the question of the sheer economic scale of this crisis – not just for cruiseship operators but for the sometimesfragile finances of Caribbean islands. Many island governments, for example, are now paying back long-term loans for expensive cruise piers and terminals and at a time when they have little or no income from overseas visitors. Many investment banks will no doubt be lenient in the current climate, but interest payments are likely to rack up as repayment terms are extended.

LOW SEASON Perhaps the only Godsend is that the Caribbean is heading into low season and many must now hope that the cruise sector can get on its feet again in time for the start of peak period in November. The interim hiatus may also give Caribbean destinations a chance to rethink marketing strategies and possibly, drive a much better bargain from a cruise industry eager to get back in business. But don’t bank on it.

Will the Caribbean really benefit from higher head taxes, stop some environmentally damaging new cruise facilities, push for a more level playing field for local tour

operators or even call time on the construction of cruise operator-controlled island destinations which do little to generate income for SMEs but only offer low-paid hotel-type work? It seems unlikely.

But it’s not just the loss of cruiseship calls that are hurting many islands, it’s the equally devastating disappearance of landbased visitors. It’s a real double whammy.

Maybe this sector can recover sooner and once airlines are back in operation.

POSITIVE Despite the doom and gloom, many positive voices remain. Frank Del Rio, president and chief executive officer of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, has gone on record saying: “We believe the disruption to the travel industry, while swift and severe, will eventually subside.” Let’s hope he is correct in his assessment.

Many others believe that there may well now be tremendous pent up demand for cruise and land-based tourism and a boom is coming in late 2020 or by early 2021 after many months with no flights or sailings.

On the up side, bunker prices are at rock bottom. However, there’s nowhere for cruiseships to go to take advantage of these low fuel rates. But at least operators, such as the aforementioned Princess Cruises and others such as Holland America Line and Carnival Cruise Line, are capitalising on this situation by actually sailing stranded seafarers back to their home countries and onboard otherwise idle tonnage.

In the final analysis, it’s hoped that tourists have fairly short memories and as those in Egypt, Mumbai, Paris, Tunisia and other terrorism-hit destinations can eagerly testify.

Well let’s hope so and for the sake of a once mighty cruise industry and a slew of hardpressed Caribbean island economies.

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SHIP REGISTRY

How ship registries and others are coping during the pandemic

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here is no need to introduce to the reader Covid-19, nor to mention the long days and nights you and your family may have been in confinement at home. Some say to protect ourselves, and to avoid the escalation of numbers of mortalities that could multiply while, others say that this confinement is illegal.

However, one of the industries that have not stopped is the shipping industry, the strong link in the chain together with the trucks helping the food industry to feed many millions of people.

One of the main players within the shipping industry are the Flag States also known as Ship Registries & Maritime Authorities, which are usually assisted by previously duly accredited Recognised Organizations (ROs) and Security Recognised Organizations (SROs) that on behalf of the Flag State take up the inspections, survey and issuance of many Statutory’ Certificates of vessels.

Covid-19 took us by surprise. IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim issued a statement addressing the effect of the

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coronavirus pandemic on the shipping industry and the global supply chain on which he said: “… Again, I urge a practical and pragmatic approach, in these unusual times, to issues like crew changeovers, resupply, repairs, survey and certification and licensing of seafarers.” .

Together with the IMO, other international organisations and associations, like ITF, WHO, International Chamber of Shipping, INTERTANKO, etc, have been working together, to find a solution to the multiple problems, delays and issues the industry is experiencing.

PROMPT ACTION Most of the registries have acted promptly in taking unprecedented measures to mitigate the impact to ensure and facilitate that their ships will sail through Covid-19 with a minimum of interruptions and consequences to ports, operators, registrars, ROs and seafarers.

Since a large number of the registries are ISO certified, Flag States needed to

By Maria Dixon

CEO, ISM Shipping Solutions Ltd

establish and document their procedures in order to be certified. However, since then, there have been new practices in place such as registrars are now working from home, and electronic signatures implemented at a fast pace. Therefore, all the new procedures have had to be added to their existing ISO manuals. Months ago, it would have been unthinkable for a Ship Registry to do this.

Recently, I assisted a vessel to update documentation as they were facing their periodic vetting. The operators had to ensure their ship remained approved to be chartered for future trade. The registry, in this case

SHIP REGISTRY

PRESSING ISSUES Although these measures have their detractors, I believe that, once this is all over, the industry will find, as always, an equilibrium to deal with the pressing issues. Although our industry is very traditional, these last months have proved differently. We should trust in the common sense of duty and responsibility that managers, operators and regulators have demonstrated with the success in their methods of dealing with similar problems for many centuries. If there is an avalanche of work for registries, yet to come, we should remember that on 20 February every year, Blue Cards and Certificates worldwide need to be renewed for thousands of vessels and registries always accomplish their deadlines and tasks.

One of the things I can foresee, without a crystal ball, is the need for more ship’s surveyors and auditors; they are going to be very busy.

Worldwide, every month there are 100,000 seafarers approximately needing, to comply with international regulations, to change over, disembark due to holidays, end of contract, accidents or other circumstances, However, one of the main worries across the tables of the industry these past weeks,

has been the crew welfare and the impossibility of crew changes.

I personally know of a young officer in a ship, he was due to leave on 23 March, plans were after his contract ended, to fly from Argentina to Panama. That very same day in Panama, the International Airport closed. So, he went with his ship all the way to Las Palmas, in the Canaries, waiting for a solution; after days of waiting without a hope, the vessel sailed to UK. Three days after they sailed, Spain just lifted its ban on crew changes, it was too late for them. However, even with Spain opened, or even if UK allows crew changes, our young officer will have to remain on board, as Panama is still closed.

We speak daily, I try to explain that here on dry land, nothing is how he left it. He is safer living in a good healthy clean ship. The thought of disembarking and going on a taxi, train then to an airport and a plane is not the safest solution to go home at the moment.

Crew currently must be desperate to leave their ships, but onboard there is no need for virus protection and their life and social gathering among them is business as usual. They are going to have a shock when they disembark and notice the newly imposed social distancing. However, if the ship has infected crew or passengers, the scenario is completely different.

GLOBAL CHANGES Covid-19 has brought many changes to the life we used to live. The whole planet is suffering, and the shipping industry moving over 80 percent of all worldwide goods has received a hard impact. We need to reassure and maintain that our seafarers are healthy and in high spirits, because they are the main asset, without them, there would be no shipping.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Maria Dixon is the CEO of ISM Shipping Solutions Ltd in the UK, she has been in shipping registration and accreditation for 40 years, and is an expert in Panama shipping. She has done benchmark studies for the Panamanian Registry prior to the IMO voluntary audit. Maria was elected President of WISTA-UK during 2008/14 and in 2019 received the Panama Maritime Lifetime Achievement Award.

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What major temporary measures have been taken to allow ships’ documentation to trade during the global restrictions imposed

by Covid-19?

• 3 0 June 2020 is the date that most registries agreed and are using as limit for any extensions, based on a period of grace of 90 days • Registries have enforced and put in place mandatory remote work & telework.

There is a minimal presence at the office, and only for exceptional cases, like in the case of the Public Registry in Panama, where mortgages are still being received and registered.

• Some surveys are being done remotely, only by special arrangements and on a case-by-case basis • Issuance of extension/postponement under force majeure or unforeseen exceptional circumstances and administratively issues of short-term statutory certificates for up to three months without prior approval of the registry. A physical survey must be conducted at the earliest opportunity.

SeregaSibTravel / Shutterstock.com

Panama, in less than 4 hours returned my petition, made by email, with an electronic certificate, ready to be printed and placed on board.

Therefore, the registry overcame the challenges that ship operators face to comply with regulations and their trading pressures.

Registries have moved quickly approving new measures such as certificates and surveys being extended for up to 90 days after the expiry date.

IMO and other international bodies have played a fundamental role while Flag States and Port State Control have organised all the schemes offering flexibility and facilities to operate ships with minimal disruption • O ther surveys and most certificates for ships will be extended up to 90 days • Seafarers certification, including medical certificates will also be extended for up to 90 days • When Seafarers’ Employment Agreement (SEA) have been concluded, a new “SEA” should be drawn.

• For ISM & ISPS, cases where it is not physically possible to attend on board and a remote audit is not practicable.

Extensions of up to 90 days will be granted, followed by a physical audit at the earliest opportunity • Require a Special risk assessment for ships requesting Flag States to grant temporary dispensations to sail with fewer seafarers than stated in their Minimum

Manning certificates (specially in cases with crew casualties on board) • Insurers and P&I Clubs are issuing confirmation to Flag States on the coverage to seafarers to include Covid-19 related issues and even extending their coverage where necessary.

• ISM Code regulation 12.1 allows up to 15 months between audits in exceptional circumstances. Flag States are issuing on a case-by-case basis authorisations to extend the period beyond 15 months.

• Many registries are receiving applications and renewals, most of them are being processed electronically. The stronger impact is the delays on couriers when registries sent the documentation abroad.

ELECTRONIC The Covid-19 has made countries embrace new electronic services, before they are scheduled, such is the case of Panama that on 13 April started issuing Electronic Provisional “Patentes” (ships registration certificates) and Radio Licences.

The above list shows common changes found on most of the flags, not only in the Caribbean, but worldwide.

IMO and other international bodies have played a fundamental role while Flag States and Port State Control have organised all the schemes offering flexibility and facilities to operate ships with minimal disruption.

Currently there is a lobbying campaign to declare seafaring a key personnel profession and asking to tackle the crew confinement urgently as the crew morale and health may be compromised.

I seriously believe that all the paperwork backlog created during these months of confinements will be a burden for the industry until at least after the New Year, where there will be more or less of a return to a calmer scenario and have all documentations up to date.

However, the seafaring confinement and increased isolation may produce high levels of anxiety, exhaustion and stress, and those may take longer to cure than a simple high pile of paperwork.

Obviously, all will depend on how long Covid-19 will continue restraining us and our activities.

Stay Safe, your family, your country and the industry need you. © Maria Dixon / ISM Shipping Solutions Ltd, London 2020

www.caribbean-maritime.com 23

CYBER SECURITY

VULNERABILITIES AND CYBERATTACKS RISKS under Covid-19 pandemics

information from being intercepted, stolen and used by cyber thieves.

Now more than ever, secure connection and encryption technologies are necessary, which many companies, whatever they might be, do not possess because they haven’t had the need to have their employees working remotely.

By Félix Grimán Cybersecurity expert

T

he way business used to run is, right now, forced to change paradigms from those we all knew and dealt with on a day-to-day basis, due to the need of “Social Distancing” provoked by the new virus that is affecting people worldwide and taking more than a quarter million lives around the world.

The risk of contagion that a person undergoes, has led to Remote Working, also known as Work From Home, bringing as a first consequence having to access the company's information from places that, in most cases, do not have adequate and/ or standard levels of security, to protect that

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COMPANY PREMISES So far, those with adequate levels of security are applied only to safeguard the information within the premises and networks of the company, but not at the workers’ home private LAN through an ISP. This, of course, also includes the shipping industry. Although many shipping companies may have high levels of digital and communication security on their vessels, this is not necessarily the case in offices on the mainland, much less in work spaces outside the technological infrastructure of the business.

First above anything else, shipping companies (all companies to tell the truth), must set a secure connection to their networks, systems and information through a Virtual Private Network (VPN) which enables the capacity of any of its employees to connect their computers and systems directly to the company’s networks as if they are physically located at the offices or vessels.

In second place, this remote communication needs to be set to use a strong level of encryption to make all the information running through the VPN, as secure and indecipherable as possible, because even when the connection is under the protection of a VPN tunnel, that communication could be sniffed and stolen but, if the thief is not able to decipher what was stolen, everything is an unusable and incomprehensible bunch of nonsense data.

Anyone could ask why all of these security rules are necessary if the company has security staff to avoid any cyber-attack when working remotely

GUIDELINES In addition to the two main items mentioned before, there are some basic guidelines that all the remote workers employees MUST meet to complete a secure activity when they are connected to the company’s network. They are as follows:

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Must keep a strong password for their computers, phones, tablets and systems. And, if it is possible and depending on the system, users must have a Two-Factor Authentication, as well known as 2FA. The password must be, as per some best IT practices, at least eight (8) characters long, combine upper and lower cases and must have special characters (!,”,#,$,%, for example) and must contains numbers.

These requirements for the passwords and 2FA must be configured and implemented by the administrator of each system and train the employees on how to set them on their devices.

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All staff must understand the risks associated with the use of their devices (laptops, tablets, phones) outside the company. This means that any device could be broken, lost and/or stolen; bringing the need to have a system in charge to block remotely all of these devices and avoid the access to the information stored on them.

Just imagine a stolen laptop where the user, to save time, has all passwords saved to get into the network and systems automatically. What could be wrong?

There are some very good solutions to control this kind of situations and keep tracking on all the assets that belong to the company. In a further article, we could talk about some interesting tools to match this goal.

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As the previous point, remote workers must be aware of the risk of using removable media where the company’s information has been stored.

As a bad standard, no users, ever, even if they work at the company’s premises or remotely, have the information written in an external drive encrypted (USB, hard disk for example).

This makes possible the access to any information stored in those devices directly, no matter what and in this case, there is no tool to block this authorized access.

Anyone could ask why all of these security rules are necessary if the company has security staff to avoid any cyber-attack when working remotely?. The answer is: it is impossible to avoid any attack. That’s why companies must have the cyber security as a high priority activity.

Having said all of this and following the reason for this article, I want to ask all of you, please take care of your health and stay home as much as you can. Our health is the only thing we have control on during this situation. See you all soon.

ABOUT FÉLIX GRIMÁN Félix is an international expert in design and management of high-performance, failsafe and resilient networks and systems infrastructure. Over two decades of experience in national security projects in several countries; implementation of secure transmissions, encryption, access levels; delivery times management, relationship with governments and companies as well as change management and dealing with conflicts at high-level national administration. Graduate in Systems Engineering and Chemical Engineering; Cisco CCNP, Microsoft MCSE. His interest is the cybersecurity applied to the shipping industry.

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HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE

The Humanitarian Hub: First Aid from Panama A

t a time when humanitarian assistance and the strategic storage of medicines and vaccines are uppermost in the minds of many, it’s perhaps reassuring to take note of CLRAH – the Centro Logístico Regional de Asistencia Humanitaria/Regional Humanitarian Assistance Logistics Center – in Panama.

It’s one of six such facilities set up globally by the UN Humanitarian Response Depot (UNHRD). The other five are located in Brindisi, Dubai, Accra, Kuala Lumpur and Las Palmas.

Climate variability, political instability and more recently global pandemics increase the risk of catastrophe for a growing number of people across the Caribbean and Latin America. Panama’s strategic geographic location and longstanding logistical expertise and capacity led to the installation of an emergency response center for the region.

Launched as a Government initiative CLRAH (or Humanitarian Hub as it is known), began operating in Panama in late 2018. The Hub’s main objective is to take advantage of the country’s comparatively

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stable economic and political environment, its limited vulnerability to natural events such as hurricanes and its highly developed air and maritime connectivity. As a result, Panama is an ideal base from which to ensure a better coordinated, faster and more effective response to possible disasters in Latin America and the Caribbean.

THREE UNITS CLRAH manages the United Nations Humanitarian Response Depot (UNHRD), which covers 12,000 square meters spread across three units operated respectively by the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (IFRC), and Panama’s own National System of Civil Protection (SINAPROC). It also has 1,115 square meters of cold storage for key supplies such as medicines and vaccines.

The original idea for CLRAH was inspired by the positive results many international organizations had addressing prior regional humanitarian emergencies from bases in Panama.

With strong support from national

carrier Copa Airlines and Hub users, Panama was one of the first countries to provide assistance and humanitarian supplies to Cuba, Puerto Rico, Sint Maarten, and the British Virgin Islands following the devastation caused in September 2017 by hurricanes Irma and María.

Since the Hub began operating, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Panama has signed agreements with the Executive Directorate of the Mesoamerican Integration & Development Project (DEPM), the General Secretariat of the Andean Community (SGCAN), the

Caribbean Disaster Emergency Agency (CDEMA), and the Coordination Center for the Prevention of Disasters in Central America (CEPREDENAC) to provide cooperation and humanitarian assistance in case of disasters in countries around the region.

CONNECTION CLRAH is based at PanamĂĄ PacĂ­fico Airport (formerly a US Air Force base), which is around 10km from Balboa. A new US$10 million direct connection from CLRAH to the runway is being built at the airport.

www.caribbean-maritime.com 27

ENVIRONMENT

THE OCEAN CLEANUP PART TWO

Following a feature in Caribbean Maritime (issue 39), it’s time to provide a further update in regard to the installation of The Ocean Cleanup’s new Interceptor garbage collection barge in the Dominican Republic - the first of its kind in the region.

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fter transportation from Rotterdam in late February by Nirint Shipping’s 17,000 dwt multipurpose vessel Augusta Luna, The Ocean Cleanup’s Interceptor 004 was unloaded in Santo Domingo in early March. Nirint had fixed the cargo via Amsterdam’s We Ship Yachts and NEPA Shipping, also based in the Netherlands.

Interceptor 004 was planned for transfer to its location in the highly polluted Rio Ozama in the same month, but in line with many other aspects of global human activity

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the impact of coronavirus initially postponed its installation. As the Ocean Cleanup says: “Health and safety comes first, so this (delay) was the wisest decision. And, although this matter is slowing down activity all over the world, we are continuing our work towards our mission.”

MILLIONS OF TONS The Netherlands-based charity aims to clean up 90 per cent of ocean plastic pollution and says that every year millions of tons of plastic enter the oceans, of which the

majority spills out from rivers. A portion of this plastic travels to ocean garbage patches, getting caught in a vortex of circulating currents. If no action is taken, the plastic will increasingly impact our ecosystems, health and economies.

The Ocean Cleanup adds: “Rivers are the main source of ocean plastic pollution. They are the arteries that carry waste from land to the ocean. Our research found that around 1,000 rivers are responsible for roughly 80 per cent of the pollution.”

The charity aims to install inceptors

The Interceptor is 100 per cent solarpowered, extracts plastic autonomously and is capable of operating in the majority of the world’s most polluting rivers. Interceptors can extract 50,000 kg of plastic per day

Great partnership with WeShipYachts to load The Ocean Cleanup Interceptor 004 on MV Augusta Luna heading for the Dominican Republic.

in all of these 1,000 or so rivers by 2025 and the Rio Ozama was the first in the Caribbean and only the fourth worldwide.

The first was installed in Jakarta and a second in Kuala Lumpur.

SCALABLE The Interceptor is The Ocean Cleanup’s answer to river plastic waste. It is the first scalable solution to prevent plastic from entering the world’s oceans from rivers.

It is 100 per cent solar-powered, extracts plastic autonomously and is capable of operating in the majority of the world’s most polluting rivers. Interceptors can extract 50,000 kg of plastic per day. In highly optimal conditions, up to double this amount can be achieved. The Interceptor can continue extracting debris even when the dumpsters are being emptied.

JAMAICAN DEPLOYMENT Thanks to US$1 million award from California’s Benioff Ocean Initiative, The Ocean Cleanup will also be deploying an Interceptor in Jamaica's most polluting waterway which is responsible for an estimated 578,000 kg of plastic entering the ocean each year.

The instalment of the Interceptor will be in collaboration with local charity Recycling Partners of Jamaica.

The Ocean Cleanup Interceptor will be deployed at Hunts Bay in the heart of Kingston Harbour – the world’s seventh largest. Plastics collected will be separated at collection centers in Kingston and recycled where possible, and with the participation of the community, and where changes are expected both in local behavior and a measurable reduction in plastics reaching the Caribbean Sea.

www.caribbean-maritime.com 29

PORT BRIEFING 1

CURAÇAO

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OPTING FOR OCTOPI

Two new Kalmar ship-to-shore, rail-mounted gantry cranes, ordered back in September 2018, were delivered to terminal operator Curaçao Port Services in February. The original delivery date was set for end 2019.

Oakland-based Octopi – part of Navis and the Cargotec Corporation and a provider of operational technologies and services – has a new TOS subscription agreement with cargo handler Port of Belize Ltd.

As a result, the cranes were badly damaged and due to the coronavirus pandemic engineers were not able to travel to Curaçao to undertake repairs. So many weeks after delivery, the cranes remain inoperable.

The Panamax cranes have an outreach of 39 meters, underspreader height of 32 meters and capacity of 40 tons under spreader for single-lift operations.

CPS is a long-standing Kalmar customer and says the new cranes will improve productivity, safety and eco-efficiency as well as decrease maintenance costs.'

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National ports company NV Havenbeheer Suriname is now operating its new jetty ‘Bacovensteiger’. The jetty, a completely new design by a joint venture between the local Rustwijk & Rustwijk and Dutch engineering consultant Buro CITE, has been built

by Surinamese contractor Nationaal uitvoeringsbedrijf NV (NUB) and is set to serve as a base for the potential future oil industry in Suriname and neighboring countries.

This project is the very first in the area and is designed to accommodate oil supply vessels and is targeted to generate more revenue for the country.

At the same time, ShibataFenderTeam was awarded the contract to deliver three Double SPC 900 Cone Fender Systems with steel panels of 2600x4750mm and 6 SPC 900 Fender Systems with steel panels of 1600x4750mm.

The Port of Belize chose to partner with Octopi as part of wider efforts to modernize its operations, bring the terminal up to international standards of operational excellence and offer best-in-class services to its customers.

The Port of Belize currently handles around 45,000 TEU annually. The Port of Belize is focused primarily on container and CFS operations but also handles a significant volume of liquid and dry bulk cargo. Maximizing efficiency and streamlining business processes to improve customer experience is a top business goal for the port. Octopi’s TOS is expected to make both immediate and lasting impact on the port’s operations.

BELIZE

SURINAME NEW JETTY

BELIZE

NEW CRANES FOR CPS

The delivery from China was not without incident as the two cranes on board the delivery vessel Wish Way struck the Koningin Juliana Bridge, which spans the entrance to St Anna Bay. As it was, the cranes had arrived in a sub-assembled form in order to pass under the bridge.

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During the course of the project, Shibata advised on the fender design, the incorporation of fenders and bollards within the jetty structure, the fender and bollard layout as well as the load transfer into the dolphins.

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COLOMBIA SPRB COVID-19 RESPONSE The Port of Barranquilla (SPRB) has setup a website to enable external personnel who need to do undertake work at the port facility to communicate remotely.

The platform was created as a measure to prevent the spread of Covid-19 and to avoid face-to-face meetings.

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CURAÇAO

JAMAICA CHANGES FOR KFT

UPS OIL STORAGE

The CMA CGM Group has announced an agreement with China Merchants Port (CMP) for the sale of its stakes in eight port terminals to Terminal Link. The Terminal Link joint venture was created in 2013 and is 51% owned

by CMA CGM and 49% by CMP.

State-owned Refineria di Korsou (RdK) is to invest in enhancing storage capacity and to upgrade unused facilities at Bullen Bay. This will cost around US$2.8 million and is set to be ready late May. “There is a great need for storage capacity worldwide and we can also benefit from this,” says RdK’s Marcelino de Lannoy. “We take advantage of the opportunity to trade by offering storage. In this way we also take the opportunity of the executory attachment that we have placed on Bonaire Petroleum Corporation (Bopec), which is still owned by Venezuela’s PdVSA. Due to the great need, this storage capacity can now be auctioned advantageously.” Bopec has 10 million barrels of storage on Bonaire and this has now been appropriated by RdK due to the non-payment of creditors.

Among the eight terminals forming part of the deal is Kingston Freeport Terminal. The other terminals are located in Ukraine, Singapore, the Netherlands, China, Vietnam, Thailand and Iraq. The sale of two other terminals is still in the pipeline. It will enable Terminal Link to expand its geographic footprint and global network, thereby enhancing its business development prospects.

De Lannoy explains that the investment is necessary because Bullen Bay is in poor condition. PdVSA has not used Bullen Bay for more than two years and its lease expired last December. From the capacity of 37 tanks and 15 million barrels, there is now only a storage capacity of 6 million barrels available.

We cannot directly use this capacity because we do not comply with the fire safety regulations. There must also be an oil spill emergency response plan.

This requires certain material, which is now in poor condition. Everything around the tanks, the instruments and the alarm systems must also be in order.”

Work will also include refurbishing the loading arms, which transfer the oil from tanker to a pipeline. At Bullen Bay there are six jetties, three of which are required for the proposed storage plan.

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COSTA RICA MOÍN COMPLETES FIRST YEAR The Moín Container Terminal (MCT), operated by APM Terminals, completed its first year of operations end February impressively handling 1,100 vessels, around 1.2 million TEU and was used by 19 different shipping line customers.

During its first year of operations, APM Terminals Moin has become one of the most productive terminals in Latin America, with performance comparable to or exceeding ports in Europe and the United States. The company has also reduced berthing time from 30 hours to just 10, with no waiting times. On average, the terminal performs 26 moves-per-hour per crane, results that better other terminals in Latin America with similar infrastructure.

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PORT MANATEE NEW TRANSFER FACILITY Port Manatee opened a new throughput-maximizing facility opened in early April in order to speed shipments of fresh produce to consumers of Florida and beyond.

Port Manatee’s newly unveiled transfer facility, with space for 120 trailers, optimizes capabilities for expediting movement of cargo by freeing up neardock yard space for stacking as many as 300 containers at a time.

“The trailer transfer facility could not be coming online at a more encouraging time,” said Carlos Buqueras, Port Manatee’s executive director. “The enhanced efficiencies this new installation facilitates already are proving vital in best utilizing port acreage to accelerate shipments of imported fruits and vegetables to consumers.”

The 3.6-acre facility was completed in three months at a port investment of US$916,093.

Shippers of produce through Port Manatee include Del Monte Fresh Produce Co, which imports bananas, pineapples and avocados from Central and South America, and Port Manatee-based World Direct Shipping, which brings in a wide range of time-sensitive perishables from Mexico.

www.caribbean-maritime.com 31

CRUISE NEWS

PORT CANAVERAL: IDLE CRUISESHIPS As mentioned elsewhere, Florida’s ports are now semi-permanent homes to large numbers of idle cruiseships and Port Canaveral is no exception.

Images: Port Canaveral

As of late April, Port Canaveral had six cruiseships idle at berth with a seventh anchored off-shore. These ships were operated by Disney Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line, and Carnival Cruise Line – all seven generally homeported at Port Canaveral. But as many as 10 cruiseships have been in the port or anchored offshore nearby during the industry shutdown and by using all six cruise terminals and occasionally some cargo berths.

The cruise lines plan to cycle vessels from berth to off-shore allowing each ship to take on provisions while at berth. US Customs & Border Protection (CBP) has restricted all crewmember movements while vessels are berthed in Port Canaveral. All crewmembers, except US citizens, are denied shore leave and remains onboard the vessel. Port Canaveral is continuing to work closely with our cruise partners as ships are repositioned. At the same time, work had continued at the US$ 163 million Cruise Terminal 3, Port Canaveral’s newest terminal. The terminal was due to open in July, but doubts still surround this proposed date. Even so, it has already been used as a layby berth.

Carnival Breeze docking at CT3 for the first time on March 19, 2020. This was the first ship to utilize the CT3 berth.

QUOTE FROM CAPTAIN JOHN MURRAY, PORT CANAVERAL CEO: “We have been working closely with all of our cruise partners on their berthing needs and decided to utilize our new Cruise Terminal 3 berth to accommodate as many vessel lay berth requests as possible. This required immediate construction of security fencing and coordinating security plan approvals with the Coast Guard before any ship could arrive.”

CRUISE PROJECT SHELVED The Cayman Islands government has confirmed that it now has no plans to go ahead with a proposed US$ 200 million cruise terminal and associated cargo handling facilities. The decision came after the government lost a case relating to running a nationwide referendum that would have given Caymanians a say as to whether they wanted larger cruiseships to call George Town.

Premier Alden McLaughlin said that as far as his administration was concerned, the referendum and the project itself were effectively dead. However, the government was pursuing an appeal but only because legal principles were at stake.

The project was backed by the Verdant Isle Port Partners consortium, which comprised both Carnival Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean Cruise. But also comes amid turmoil in the cruise shipping sector and, under the current situation, is unlikely to have proceeded even if the government had won.

But it seems that Grand Cayman will now not get improved cargo facilities either and which are badly needed.

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6

STARBOARD BRIEFING

BLUE WATER IN TRINIDAD AND GUYANA Denmark’s Blue Water Shipping is upping its presence in the Caribbean and has in the last few months opened new offices in both Guyana and Trinidad.

The company says there is growing demand across the region for its services and it is therefore a natural step to open offices to serve existing and new customers with its wide range of logistics services.

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The company will focus on complete project management of transport and logistics. “We have been involved in a number of different energy and projectrelated transport and logistics assignments in the region in recent years. We are proud that our global expertise and experience have resulted in successful execution of these projects, as it shows that our set-up is flexible and reliable,” says regional director Brent Patterson.

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CSEC MOVES TO MAY 2021

CROWLEY APPOINTMENT

The CSA annual Caribbean Shipping Executives Conference that was scheduled to take place in Castries, St Lucia, in May has been postponed for 12 months.

The decision was taken due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Exact dates for May 2021 have yet to be announced.

Crowley has welcomed Ray Fitzgerald back as its new chief operating officer. Fitzgerald began his career with Crowley and most recently served as president and COO of Oslo-headquartered Wallenius Wilhelmsen Solutions.

He is was chairman of New Jersey-based American Roll-on Roll-off Carrier (ARC) – a US-flag operator with calls in Manzanillo and Cartagena as part of its East Coast and West Coast South America services. Fitzgerald is based in Jacksonville and reports to Chairman and CEO Tom Crowley.

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STAATSOLIE RAISES BONDS Staatsolie Maatschappij Suriname has raised US$ 195 million worth of bonds in Suriname and Curaçao, internationally listed on the Willemstad-based Dutch Caribbean Securities Exchange (DCSX).

Staatsolie says investor confidence meant it actually managed to exceed its US$ 150 million goal.

PORT OF SPAIN, TRINIDAD

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SHIPCO JOINS SAJ NVOCC Shipco Transport Jamaica has joined the Shipping Association of Jamaica. Shipco set up in Jamaica in January and is part of a New Jersey-headquartered global NVOCC network in more than 30 countries. Shipco has also recently opened a similar operation in Trinidad headed up by Julian Sammy.

JACKSONVILLE TERMINAL

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KINGSTON WHARVES Kingston Wharves Limited (KWL) has introduced an appointment service for its clients who are processing LCL cargoes such as pallets, boxes, barrels and other such shipments. To support its new service, KWL has developed an online appointment platform. This platform allows customs brokers, agents and freight forwarders to directly make reservations for both their commercial and personal customers who have cargo to be cleared from either KWL’s Total Logistics Facility, Kingport Warehouse Complex or Berth 5 Warehouse.

The platform can be accessed at: www.kwlreservations.as.me.

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CARIBBEAN SHIPPING EXECUTIVES’ CONFERENCE

The Caribbean Shipping Association’s CSEC meeting planned for St Lucia in late May 2020 has been postponed until May 2021.

The CSA expresses gratitude to participants, speakers and supporters of this Conference for their understanding. The Association will provide information on the new schedules in due course.

For further information contact: Dionne Mason-Gordon. Tel: (876) 923-3491.

Email: dionnemg@jamports.com or dionne@caribbeanshipping.org

caribbean shipping association

CSA SECRETARIAT: 4 FOURTH AVENUE, NEWPORT WEST, PO BOX 1050, KINGSTON CSO, JAMAICA TEL: +876 923 34981 · E-MAIL: CSA@CWJAMAICA.COM

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RUSSBROKER CARIBBEAN MARKET REVIEW

Smaller ships suffer but not only due to Covid-19

CONTAINER MARKET The Corona crisis was the all-dominating topic in early 2020. Firstly, feeder cargo volumes experienced their normal dip in February due to the Chinese New Year festivities. The prolonged shutdown in China however then leads to a much larger dearth in cargo than usual, as Chinese port TEU throughput figures in January and February were about 10% lower than the year before.

Once the coronavirus then hit the rest of the world and lockdown measures were implemented pretty much everywhere, intra-regional cargo volumes started to drop as well. Although the situation has improved in Asia and economic activity has restarted, a third “wave� of shrinking TEU numbers will occur starting at end of April as more than 250 regular sailings ex Asia are cancelled during the second quarter 2020 as a consequence of the globally very low consumption and production. As operators started to cut sailings and even whole services, surplus container tonnage began to build up. By the end of April about 70 ships in the size range of 500 to 2,000 TEU had become unemployed in the Atlantic.

Apart from coronavirus, the main theme in the Americas in early 2020 had been service upsizing. With anticipated, and early on also materializing higher fuel costs

CONTEX

CONTEX

12 MONTHS, 1100

12 MONTHS, 1700

12 MONTHS, 2500

Jan 20 428 6164 8428 9747 Feb 20 413 6124 8146 9349 Mar 20 392 6043 7686 8993 Apr 20

378

5976

due to the IMO 2020 regulations, many operators tried to bring down their slot cost by increasing the vessel size deployed.

Two main liner operators, for example, combined their West Coast South America feeder loops which allowed them to replace four ships (1,300 TEU, 1,700 TEU and 2x2 200 TEU) by two much larger ships (3,500 TEU and 4,000 TEU).

One Transatlantic fruit service, which had stretched all the way to St. Petersburg for years, was cut short. The ships now already turn in the Antwerp-Hamburg range, which allows for deployment of 3,500 TEU ships without ice class instead of using smaller 2,500 TEU ice-class ships needed to go into the Baltic all year round. Several 1,100 TEU and 1,300 TEU ships were also displaced by larger 1,700 TEU ships.

The 2,500 TEU geared segment was relatively quiet during the last couple of months. Stable rates of over US$

7457

8746

10,000 began to give way in March as excess tonnage started to build up in the Mediterranean. More and more desperate owners were willing to position, and the traditional Caribbean trading bonus (compared to Southern European trade) has trended towards zero. As a result, rates fell below US$ 9,000$ by end-April.

In the Caribbean, the number of unemployed vessels were low. A few ships, which had been looking for fresh employment for months appear to be completely shunned by charterers. Although it did not help that there were barely any fresh requirements for such ships in 2020.

The 1,700 TEU ships fared relatively well during early 2020. Good demand and little available extra tonnage kept rates above US$ 9,000 throughout March. However, a few ships fell into spot positions by mid-April and both the sizes above, 2,500 TEU and below, 1,300 TEU are becoming comparatively

www.caribbean-maritime.com 35

RUSSBROKER CARIBBEAN MARKET REVIEW

cheaper, and rates for 1,700 TEU ships are also expected to give way.

In another attempt to reduce slot costs one Caribbean operator took two Bangkokmax newbuildings for its Suriname service on long-term charter. The ships had to ballast from Asia but as they are shallow draft they can take almost twice as much cargo as the 1,100 TEU ships previously serving this draft-restricted Paramaribo. A number of high-quality 1,800 TEU ships left the Americas towards China in order to pass their next class renewal at a much cheaper shipyard. The very good reefer intake and high speed of those ships, which is rarely honored with higher rates in Asia, led two of those ships to return; one to operate in the US to Central America fruit trade and one on the West Coast of South America.

The 1,300 TEU high reefer category, previously one of the most resilient segments suffered badly. Charter rates for those ships had been around US$ 9,000 by the end of last year and even higher for intensive reefer trade. But due to the aforementioned service upsizing the favor tipped in charterers' direction. More ships than requirements led rates fall to the low US$ 8,000’s in January, well before coronavirus had any effect in the Americas.

As competition heated up during March and April such ships had to fix under US$ 8,000. Another example where 1,300 TEU ships lost out this year was a seasonal East Coast South America service oriented towards fruit exports which had last year been run with two 1,300 TEU ships. This year the requirement was covered by two modern 1,700 TEU vessels which the charterer had on long term hire and positioned them from

36 www.caribbean-maritime.com

Asia instead of chartering in additional tonnage. Two ships which had been idle for some time eventually fixed some empty containers with destination Europe in order to try their luck on the other side of the Atlantic.

The 1,100 TEU vessels fared even worse than the 1,300 TEU ships. For the last couple of months, a handful of those ships had always been looking for fresh business.

This overcapacity caused earnings to drop successively from around US$ 7,000 in January down to the low US$ 6000s by April.

Low bunker prices also impacted the value of more fuel-efficient ships or even left charterers to completely neglect those vessels as one modern eco-ship had been idle for six weeks and counting until the end of April. Similarly, to the 1,300 TEU ships, there had been a net outflow of ships from the Caribbean towards the Mediterranean.

The last four 1,100 TEU newbuildings, specifically tailored to the needs of Caribbean trade, and now all in service allow the one operator to completely forego charter ships and run its entire network with own tonnage.

Sub 1,000 TEU ships also were not spared by the general rate decline. Despite two geared 700 TEU ships being temporary out of order due to sales and repair procedures market levels for those ships fell from mid/ high US$ 6,000 to the low 6,000s. Two gearless 700 TEU ships also positioned towards Europe soon after their charters ended as the more "exotic" gearless ships were expected to have even more trouble securing fresh employment. A new express service with a very small 350 TEU ship between only two ports, inaugurated in January, was made redundant again only two months later by the addition of an extra port call within a longer loop run with 3,000 TEU ships.

In addition to the lower earnings, charter periods have become extremely flexible as the large tonnage overcapacity allows operators to put the risk on the owner and fix periods of up to 1-12 months. Some

charterers nowadays even do not fix any charter for a fix minimum period of more than one month or demand special coronavirus exit clauses.

New infrastructure will increase carriers' options and will probably also increase the use of larger and gearless ships. Willemstad, for example, received new gantry cranes in February (not yet in use) and Paita in Peru decided to lengthen its pier in order to allow neo-panama container vessels to call at its terminal. Such an expansion, as seen on the West Coast, could reduce the need for feeder ships if the port would be directly incorporated into some mainline East-West services.

The scrubber economics, which had already been less favorable in the Caribbean than in other areas of the world from the start, have been brought down hard by the Covid-19 crisis and the ensuing crash in oil and bunker prices. The price difference between low-sulfur fuel and regular HFO stood at about US$ 300 per ton in mid-January. By mid-April, the spread had come down to a meagre US$ 50; ruining all calculated scrubber investment payback times. For charterers who agreed to a fixed minimum scrubber premium, the total cost of a scrubber-equipped ship can even be higher than for one without the extra exhaust gas cleaning system.

MACROECONOMICS The world economy has been severely slowed down by the coronavirus crisis and the ensuing lockdown in many countries.

At the moment, forecasts are even more uncertain than usual, but the International Monetary Fund (IMF), for example, expects in its base scenario an economic decline of 3% in 2020 followed by a positive recovery of up to 6% in 2021. This scenario however assumes a return to normality in the second half of 2020 and at the moment many worse outcomes are unfortunately still possible.

World trade is even more affected by this situation; the IMF predicts a contraction of

The Caribbean is also affected on multiple levels.

Already high state debt levels leave little room for financial stimulus and social security measures

minus 11% for 2020 and the World Trade Organization (WTO) expects a decline of between minus 13% and minus 32%.

The GDP figures for Central America and the Caribbean are a bit below the global averages with an expected decline of around 3% this year and an improvement in 2021 of only 4%. South America's numbers are even worse with minus 5% in 2020 and plus 3.5% 2021. If those predictions come true, the economic output at the end of 2021 will still be well below 2019 levels.

The Caribbean is also affected on multiple levels. Already high state debt levels leave little room for financial stimulus and social security measures. Some commoditydependent countries face the double effect of falling demand and prices. In addition, tourism has come to a complete stop. As however this segment accounts for at least 25% of GDP and jobs, for some even up to 40% and 80% respectively, in ten Caribbean countries the effect on the overall economy can be severe – depending on how long travel bans last.

The WTO also predicts some of the world strongest trade reduction for Central and South America. Exports this year are forecasted to shrink between 13% and 31% while at the same time exports are expected to decline between 22% and 44%. The only moderating aspect with respect to shipping is that the reductions are about evenly split due to a decline in volumes and prices.

SALE AND PURCHASE OF CONTAINER TONNAGE IN THE CARIBBEAN Generally, ship prices continued their downward trend from the end of last year. After the banks pushed lots of tonnage into the market at the end of last year and thereby driving down prices, some ships slated for sale in early 2020 had been withdrawn from the market or never been offered at all as the coronavirus crisis caused prices to drop to such levels where even the banks were no longer willing to sell.

Sales activity for Americas-related tonnage was very low during the first quarter of 2020. A few more geared 700 TEU were sold or are still up for sale and at least one 1,100 TEU ship trading in the area, almost

SELECTED CONTAINER FIXTURES SUB 1,000 TEU - CELLED Jan 20

Regula 683 TEU / 402@14 / 17on28 / 118rp

4-6 weeks US$ 6800 p/d

Feb 20

Regula 683 TEU / 402@14 / 17on28 / 118rp

3-6 months US$ 6100 p/d

Mar 20

Pafilia 712 TEU / 428@14 / 17on28 / 156rp

5-7 months US$ 6100 p/d

1,100 TEU - GEARED, CELLED Jan 20

Taipei Trader 1102 TEU / 705@14 / 18on25 / 220rp

5.5-8 months US$ 8975 p/d modern eco ship

Jan 20

Sonderborg 1019 TEU / 700@14 / 19on35 / 220rp

1-2 months US$ 7250 p/d CV1100 eco version

Feb 20

Bomar Rebecca 1118 TEU / 712@14 / 20on41 / 220rp

3-6 months US$ 6850 p/d

Mar 20

Hamburg Trader 1118 TEU / 700@14 / 19on42 / 220rp

1-3 months US$ 6400 p/d

Apr 20

Sonderborg 1019 TEU / 700@14 / 18on36 / 220rp

3-6 months US$ 6500 p/d CV1100 eco version

1,300 TEU - GEARED, CELLED Jan 20

Contship Ice 1345 TEU / 925@14 / 20on52 / 449rp

6 months US$ 8200 p/d

Feb 20

As Fiorella 1296 TEU / 958@14 / 20on45 / 390rp

21-90 days US$ 8250 p/d

Mar 20

Saturn 1341 TEU / 925@14 / 20on52 / 449rp

1-4 months US$ 8100 p/d

Apr 20

Juliana 1338 TEU / 914@14 / 19on49 / 449rp

2-8 weeks US$ 7500 p/d WCSA trade

1,700 TEU - GEARED, CELLED Jan 20

Cerinthus 1728 TEU / 1275@14 / 19on48 / 345rp

8-12 months US$ 9500 p/d

Feb 20

Caribbean Express 1688 TEU / 1234@14 / 19 / 300rp

9-12 months US$ 8900 p/d

Mar 20

Acrux N 1740 TEU / 1274@14 / 21on57 / 300rp

3-7 months US$ 9100 p/d

2,500 TEU - GEARED, CELLED Jan 20

Nordamelia 2506 TEU / 1984@14 / 19on48 / 564rp

3-6 months US$ 13750 p/d modern eco ship; ECSA trade

Jan 20

As Cleopatra 2723 TEU / 2103@14 / 22on84 / 400rp

12-14 months US$ 10150 p/d

Feb 20

Erato 2546 TEU / 1882@14 / 22on68 / 616rp

10-11 months US$ 10250 p/d

Mar 20

JPO Aquarius 2470 TEU / 1851@14 / 21on83 / 400rp

3-6 months US$ 9000 p/d

always appears to be for sale.

Prices for the very common CV1100 design, and with 15 ships trading in the Americas also a usual sight in the area, are deteriorating particularly fast. For example,

15-year-old vessels of this type are now closing in on scrap price levels. On the newbuilding front nothing appears to be on the horizon at the moment, which is designated for America’s feeder trade.

www.caribbean-maritime.com 37

DIGITALIZATION BY FREIGHT MANAGER

DIGITALIZATION IS THE

“NEW NORMAL”

T

he Covid-19 pandemic did not usher in the new age of digitalization in the maritime industry, but it has certainly proved how essential it is for Caribbean shipping interests to embrace the use of digital technologies for the continuation of their businesses and to provide new revenue and value-producing opportunities.

Fortunately, companies such as Advantum have been providing port, shipping, freight and transportation companies in the Caribbean with the information technology (IT) services required for a smooth and effective transition to this new world of speed, efficiency and customer satisfaction.

The implementation of social distancing requirements necessary to combat the rapid spread of the virus means that employers have been forced to adjust their operating paradigm to facilitate work-from-home arrangements. This is one of the characteristics of the “new normal” that will

continue long after Covid-19 and can only be effectively implemented through Workflow Automation; but what is workflow automation? How does it facilitate work-from-home arrangements without losing profitability?

Will my company’s and my clients’ information be secure? Will it replace people by taking away their jobs? Will less human interaction cause the business environment to become more impersonal? Those are only a few of the questions that must be addressed in this new era.

WORKFLOW AUTOMATION Workflow automation is a created series of automated actions for the steps in a

business process. It allows for the automation of processes where human tasks, data or files are routed between people or systems based on pre-defined business rules. Network engineers can therefore implement virtual private networks and other solutions to extend corporate resources into the household on an enterprise scale. Workflow automation is used to improve everyday business processes because when your work flows, you can concentrate on getting more done and focusing on the things that matter. It allows teams to spend more time on the actual work itself and less time on the processes that support them.

Workflow automation is used to improve everyday business processes because when your work flows, you can concentrate on getting more done www.caribbean-maritime.com 39

DIGITALIZATION BY FREIGHT MANAGER

BENEFITS OF WORKFLOW AUTOMATION By automating workflows, especially those processes that are primarily handled manually by employees, significant improvements can be made in: • • • • • • • • •

educed errors R Better workload management Increased data security Continual process improvement Policy Compliance adherence Reduced approval cycles Reduced manual handling Improved visibility Improved employee satisfaction

WILL THE COMPANY’S AND CLIENTS’ INFORMATION BE SECURE? The storage of one’s data is a critical element where data encryption, implementation of data laws, the use of strong passwords and installation of firewall protection help to provide the peace of mind to the owner that the information is safe.

Other data protection steps that can be taken include: • U ser Awareness Training: Make no assumptions about what staff might know about data protection; and ensure that they are provided with the information and support to make good decisions consistently.

40 www.caribbean-maritime.com

• T wo-factor Authentication: For example, setting a password for the device and the particular files being accessed on the device.

It is also suggested that businesses implement Work-From-Home (WFH) policies that establish an approval process for remote work and require adherence to the company’s data privacy, security, and confidentiality policies. The WHF policy should cover the maintenance of safety conditions and safety habits at the home office, as established at company facilities. All worktime can also be recorded using software designed to manage employee activities on their remote devices.

COMPUTERS REPLACING PEOPLE? It is a mis-conception that digitalization results in fewer jobs. Digitalization however changes the landscape of jobs being offered and is therefore an opportunity for employees to retrofit their skills to accommodate the changes. Contrary to thinking of opposing the implementation, staff should be encouraged to be involved in the process as the more knowledgeable they are, the more important they become for deployment in other areas of the entity.

WILL THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT BECOME MORE IMPERSONAL? Less human interaction has become the new norm in this Covid-19 era. It requires a change in how we think of doing things.

Instead of thinking of an impersonal business, think of the joy of a customer not having to contend with a crowded space. Imagine their joy when you are able to deliver that item to their doorsteps without them having to leave their homes.

If we continue to think of how things are now, we will forget to imagine how

much greater the experience can be going forward. Let us automate things so we can leave our offices earlier and have more time to be involved in human interactions at occasions for family and friends.

HOW CAN ADVANTUM HELP? A critical plank in successful workflow automation is the identification, understanding, modelling and optimization of current business processes. Advantum/ Port Computer Services Limited is well suited to assist with this exercise.

Advantum’s Logistics suite of products has an in-built work flow engine which allows for the upload, execution and monitoring of workflows; modelled using industry standards.

State-of-the-science applications have been developed by Advantum specifically for its partners in the shipping industry.

At the Caribbean Shipping Association’s 18th Caribbean Shipping Executives’ Conference staged in May 2019 in Jamaica, the company screened a video presentation on its new Motor Vehicle Management System that provides digital real-time tracking of vehicle movement and location for offloading and transshipment. It has been deployed in Kingston and features the convenience of hand-held devices and smartcards for speedy and precise operations.

Advantum’s Port, Freight, eLabour, Equipment Management, GuardRoute Tracking, and Motor Vehicle Management Systems meet or exceed the highest industry standards worldwide. Also, clients have described Advantum Financials as “a money-saving and money-making application that is easily adaptable”.

“The Advantum vision is futuristic and client focused”, says Operations Manager and Project Lead, Kay Wilson Kelly, who adds that these new business applications are supported by speedy responsiveness and unparalleled service delivery.

She states: “Advantum applications are custom-built to clients’ specific requirements while offering 24-hour on-call service and the most thorough on-site pretesting of business solutions that satisfy our customer’s needs.”