INTERVIEW: PORT MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION OF THE CARIBBEAN (PMAC)

From PMAC’s base in Barbados, Chairman, Darwin Telemaque, unpacks the need for development to create a globally competitive maritime environment for the Caribbean

Darwin Telemaque Chairman, PMAC

North America Outlook (NA): Firstly, could you talk us through PMAC’s inception and why it was founded?

Darwin Telemaque, Chairman (DT): The Port Management Association of the Caribbean (PMAC) conducted its inaugural meeting in Antigua on 26th June 1998, having succeeded the Port Management Association of the Eastern Caribbean (PMAEC) established on 16th May 1988, under the auspices of NovaPort International Consultants Limited of Canada. The PMAEC was originally conceived as a forum where port managers, recognizing the remarkably similar challenges faced, could seek counsel and freely discuss solutions. However, driven by the need to forge closer regional ties in response to various developments within the industry, the Association extended membership to the wider Caribbean, having been reconstituted as PMAC.

NA: What are some of the main trends currently facing the sector in the Caribbean?

DT: As with all industries, we are still experiencing challenges in the supply chain. The inflationary impacts that we are facing are extraordinarily painful, especially in the private sector.

I think that the Caribbean has never had a global posture from a port and transport perspective – we have always lagged behind. This means that when you do see various industry trends develop, it has more of an impact on the Caribbean since most of our ports, having been initially constructed in the 1960s as break-bulk ports, were not predominantly conducive to containerization.

NV Havenbeheer Suriname is the lessor responsible for the safe, efficient and effective functioning of the port facilities assigned to it. We perform regulatory and monitoring activities. Our job is to manage the dry port infrastructure.

In a broader context, we facilitate the development of trade and commerce based on market forces in collaboration with our port stakeholders. With this in mind, we focus on creating added value for the transport chain and try to regulate infrastructure and facilities but above that, we keep focus on what needs to be done to achieve optimal over-all results for the port in general.