With the expansion of the Panama Canal due for completion in 2015, the Port Authority of Jamaica is planning an ambitious program of improvements to ensure the Kingston Container Terminal remains the premier container port of the Caribbean.
Jamaica has been an important Caribbean shipping center since the mid-1600s, adapting and changing through the centuries to meet the needs of each era. Today, the port and shipping industry is overseen by the Port Authority of Jamaica, a statutory corporation established in 1972 to develop, regulate and promote the growth of the island’s marine industry – one of its greatest assets. Not only is the authority actively building on the island’s reputation as a cruise destination and developing its transshipment capabilities, it is once again investing in improvements and adapting to external change.
Within PAJ’s remit there are for three major international ports - the Kingston Container Terminal, the Port of Montego Bay and the Port of Ocho Rios. Owned by the Authority itself and operated by its subsidiary Kingston Container Terminal Services Ltd, the Kingston Container Terminal has established an enviable position as the premier container transshipment hub in the Caribbean. Not only is the terminal located in a sheltered position in the world’s seventh largest natural harbor, but it lies on the main shipping route for traffic entering and exiting the Panama Canal.
The port of Montego Bay on the North West coast of the island was acquired by the authority in 1986 and is operated today by the private company Port Handlers Ltd. With 427 meters of berthing space, not only does it offer a cargo terminal equipped with warehousing and 1.2 hectares of container storage space, but it also includes a 2,694 m2 cruise ship terminal. Finally, the Port of Ocho Rios has two piers: one is a dedicated cruise ship pier with two births, owned by the authority and managed by Lannaman & Morris Shipping, while the other is the Reynolds Bauxite Pier which is owned by BATCO (Bauxite and Alumina Trading Company of Jamaica). This, too, is used at times to dock cruise ships.
The Kingston Container Terminal has gone through a number of expansions and improvements, the last of which were completed in 2009. With a current capacity of 2.8 million TEUs (twenty foot equivalent units) the port is ready for expansion up to 3.2 million TEUs in its current configuration by converting available land into further container storage space. The site has three operating terminals, each of them dredged to a depth of 13 meters and equipped with the latest materials handling gear as well as a computer aided management system for both operations and maintenance. In addition to ship-to-shore gantry cranes, the site boasts a range of Super Post-Panamax cranes capable of operating alongside the largest classes of container vessel.
The authority is currently preparing the container terminal for the next stage of development. The number of ultra large carriers on the seas is expected to increase from 39 to 149 by 2014, when work is completed on a massive $5.5 billion program of expansion currently under way on the Panama Canal. Originally opened in 1914, the canal provides a vital direct shipping link between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Over time, vessel sizes have increased markedly, and any vessels exceeding 32 meters in width and 12 meters in depth - aptly classed as Post-Panamax ships – have been forced to carry their cargo around the tip of South America.
Improvements to this monumental feat of 20th century engineering are currently in progress and include constructing two new ocean-facing locks with the necessary access canals, as well as widening and deepening the navigation canals enabling vessels up to 49 meters wide and 15 meters in draught to pass safely through.
On completion of the Panama Canal expansion, the Caribbean will be one of the greatest beneficiaries as a marked increase in the number of transshipment cargoes traversing the region is expected, resulting in more cargoes being handled in Caribbean ports. The port of Kingston is expected to grow from the present 1.7 million TEUs of cargo per annum to approximately 4 million TEUs by 2015.
In preparation to receive this increased capacity the authority plans to dredge the terminal basin and shipping channel to a depth of 16 meters. This will pave the way for the port to serve as a transshipment hub for draught restricted ports of the US east and Gulf Coast, and to handle vessels up to a maximum capacity of 12,000 TEUs, a draft of 15.2 meters, length of 366 meters and beam of 48.8 meters. A fourth terminal is planned for the area of Fort Augusta just south of the existing three terminals, increasing the port’s capacity to 5.2 million TEUs. Land reclamation work is expected to begin soon. Finally, the previous expansion will be optimized by paving the west berth to increase the container stacking area, and upgrades will also be made to equipment and navigational stock throughout the port.
In addition to the development of the Kingston Container Terminal, the authority has been working to establish the island as a distribution hub for the Americas. Two hubs, which include warehousing, display, sales and distribution of products to identify and target buyers, have been located within the Kingston and Montego Bay Free Zones. The Kingston Logistics Centre, located adjacent to the container terminal, went into operation in 2006 and transfers goods from the port, strips, repackages and consolidates the contents before forwarding it to customers worldwide on a duty free basis.
Of course, Jamaica was one of the original centers for cruise shipping in the Caribbean, and through its Cruise Jamaica division the authority is working with various agencies to expand, develop and better market the island as a cruise destination. Until very recently Jamaica was renowned for its three cruise destinations: the cruise berths at the ports of Kingston and Montego Bay and the yacht marina at Port Antonio on the north east coast which has recently been renamed the Errol Flynn Marina in memory of the film star who made the port his home for many years. Comprising a 23 slip yacht complex for vessels up to 350 feet in length and 17 feet depth, the marina is highly specified and includes a 24-hour customs and immigration facility as well as a full service boat repair and maintenance yard equipped with a 100 ton boat lift.
After a very careful assessment of possible new cruise destinations around the island, the authority finally selected the colonial old town of Falmouth, 22 miles east of Montego Bay as the most suitable location. Steeped in history and tradition with a rich architectural heritage and a peaceful natural environment, Falmouth dates back to local landowner Edward Barrett - grandfather of English poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning - on whose property the town was developed. This rich cultural history has continued through the ages, and Falmouth is proving a very popular holiday destination.
By continuously updating and improving Jamaica’s shipping and port facilities, the port authority is ensuring that the island is able to take advantage of one of its greatest assets, its prime location in the Caribbean Sea.
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