The Puerto Rico Tourism Company had welcome news at the start of the year, reporting that 35,000 cruise guests visited the port of San Juan between January 15 – 21. 

The Port Management Association of the Caribbean, Caribbean Maritime University and the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) have pledged to work together. Formality was given to this decision on January 23, 2018 in Panama City, at the inaugural PMAC-Portside Caribbean Port Management Workshop, held at the Sheraton Grand Panama. Representatives from the three organizations endorsed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which outlined the scope and depth of their relationship.

Manzanillo International Terminal (MIT) in Colon, Panama, played host to about 70 Caribbean port managers and decision-makers at the first annual Caribbean Port Management Workshop. The Workshop, presented by the Port Management Association of the Caribbean in collaboration with Portside Caribbean and the Caribbean Maritime University, was held at the Sheraton Grand hotel in Panama City, January 22, 23 and 24, 2018.

With new technologies constantly changing modes and methods, the maritime industry will soon be seeing liquids for human consumption being transported in 40-foot containers as against stainless steel tanks. The change has come about because of Reeflex, a new system launched in Germany in February 2018. It was rolled out at Fruit Logistica, an annual international show for the fresh produce trade.

Kingston Freeport Terminal Limited has reported upgrading 600 metres of berth and announced plans to acquire two new ship-to-shore cranes by April. This will bring total ship-shore gantries to 16. KFTL, which dominates the real estate at Jamaica’s main port, handled approximately 1.47 million teu in calendar year 2017, about 80% of which was transshipment cargo.

Battered and bruised during the 2017 Hurricane season, Dominica welcomed its first cruise ship at the end of January. It was the first reported cruise call since hurricane Maria hit the island-state. MV Mein Schiff 3, owned by TUI Cruises arrived on January 28 with more than 2,000 passengers.