Regional Ports to Look at Port Operations in Annual General Meeting of the Port Management Association of the Caribbean Hosted by Port St. Maarten

POINT BLANCHE, St. Maarten – Port St. Maarten – Manager of Cargo Operations at Port St. Maarten Roger Lawrence said on Tuesday that approximately 40 regional port executives will be attending the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Port Management Association of the Caribbean (P.M.A.C.) from June 25-27 that Port St. Maarten is hosting.

Lawrence added that the AGM offers port executives the opportunity to foster a strong alliance to identify the best ways of working in port operations, especially at this crucial time when ports in the Caribbean Basin has no option but to continue to think intuitive due to continuously facing challenges within the sector posed by ever so changing global economic climate shifts.

“Having said this, we look forward to meeting all delegates and sharing knowledge with our fellow Caribbean brothers and sisters, and of course showcasing our world renowned hospitality,” Cargo Manager at Port St. Maarten Roger Lawrence said on Tuesday.  

The Executive Committee meeting kicks-off at the Westin Dawn Beach Resort & Spa on June 25, the venue for the three-day general meeting.

On Friday there will be six presentations covering a number of port operation strategic areas.  St. Maarten Harbour Group of Companies Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mark Mingo will be one of the presenters with a presentation on, ‘The Evolution of Cruise Tourism and Its Impact on Cruise and Cargo Operations.’

The other presentations for that day will be: Sustainable Harbour Development through Holistic EIA and Environmental Monitoring and Management Plans; Competency Based Training and Certification of Dockworkers; Automation of St. Maarten Harbour; Electronic Freight Exchange Platform for Shipping in the Caribbean and Latin America; and Sydney Harbour Channel Dredging Project.  

The P.M.A.C. is considered a very important organization with respect to port authority operations, and Port St. Maarten is very pleased to have been chosen to host this year’s AGM.

P.M.A.C. was founded in 1998 with the aim to improve the proficiency of member ports and the quality of services offered to their users. The aforementioned objective is to be accomplished by training.

The vision of the regional grouping of port authorities and other stakeholders is to be respected as the main voice of member ports; to advise on port management and port operations matters in the Caribbean; to facilitate further collaboration of as many of the regional ports in the development of training, including job exchange programs and sharing of human resources.

Current membership of the P.M.A.C. are the port authorities of: Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Saint Martin, Montserrat, Nevis, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname and St. Maarten.  There are also a number of associate members.