Port managers and their colleagues in the various sectors that collectively make seaports a viable and a dependable resource for human survival flew into the V.C. Bird International Airport in the last week of June to meet with their colleagues in Antigua.
It had been almost four years. The last time they had met in person under the banner of the Port Management Association of the Caribbean (PMAC) was in 2019 in Fort Lauderdale. The COVID-19 pandemic and consequent international public health safeguards and restrictions effectively nullified any plans for an actual annual general meeting the following years, until 2023. And Antigua, with its spanking-new port, was the perfect location.
The moment was the 26th Annual General Meeting and the Silver Anniversary of the PMAC, established on June 26, 1998. The first was hosted by the Antigua and Barbuda Port Authority and, as PMAC General Secretary Glenn Roach reminded: “… which (also) hosted the inaugural PMAC meeting; and, at the same venue… the Royalton Antigua, formerly the Royal Antiguan.”
With 110 delegates attending, including representatives of 16 PMAC member ports, 15 associate member companies, four strategic partners (i.e., support and collaborating organizations and associations), as well as 10 sponsors and two exhibitor companies, this was to be the third largest meeting in the Association’s 25-year history. And, as Glenn Roach noted, it was also the first time that there was online participation by delegates – PMAC’s first blended meeting of physical and virtual attendees.
The Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Gaston Browne, was in attendance to deliver the keynote address at the Opening Ceremony. Three memoranda of understanding were ceremoniously signed, bringing PMAC into functional relationships with the Caribbean Association of Investment Promotion Agencies, International Port Community Systems Association, and the Women in Maritime Association, Caribbean.
Port Legislation, and particularly mandatory compliance with the IMO January 2024 deadline for Maritime Single Window implementation, Trade Facilitation, Port Digitalization, and Capacity Building, provided industry-wide focus for the 12 presentations delivered to delegates over the three-day event.
As regards PMAC’s organizational structure and service delivery, Mr. Roach made note of the establishment of an Associate Members Committee “… to facilitate improved representation of associate members and consultation with the PMAC Board of Directors.”