Sensors, AI and Connected Containers: A Practical Smart-Port Path for the Caribbean?
Artificial intelligence can turn container images into inspection records, while connected sensors follow cargo beyond the port gate. But a port’s digital upgrade also depends on knowing who is inside the terminal, where people and equipment are moving and whether an emerging risk requires action. A vessel enters the port carrying containers. The movements of […]
Trinidad and Tobago tops the 2026 NovaPort Cup as French overseas ports fill the next three places
The Port Authority of Trinidad and Tobago has won the 2026 NovaPort Cup, finishing ahead of the Grand Port Maritime de la Guyane and the Établissement Portuaire de Saint-Martin. The Grand Port Maritime de la Martinique ranked fourth, giving French overseas ports three consecutive positions immediately behind the Caribbean port award’s latest champion. Presented during […]
One Ship Clearance Across the OECS: Building a Digital Maritime Corridor
The OECS is considering a digital corridor that could allow a vessel cleared in one participating port to continue through the region without repeating the same procedures at every call. The proposal promises greater visibility and shorter processing times, but its implementation will depend on more than technology. A vessel serving several Eastern Caribbean islands […]
PMAC expands its Network: Port membership up nearly 18%, associate network up nearly 40%
Four new port members and a rapidly expanding associate network are widening PMAC’s reach. The next challenge is to convert that growth into training, regional standards and projects that continue between annual meetings. The Port Management Association of the Caribbean concluded its 29th Annual General Meeting with a larger membership and a broader operational agenda. […]
No Security, No Trade: The Caribbean Port Blind Spot
Transnational criminal networks operate across maritime routes, container systems and national borders. Caribbean ports are now confronting a central weakness: local incidents are not always converted into regional intelligence. Caribbean ports are economic gateways. They move food, fuel, consumer goods, industrial inputs and passengers between territories whose economies depend heavily on maritime trade. They are […]
PMAC 29th Annual General Meeting – Who Will Finance the Caribbean’s Port Transition ?
The European Union, DFC and regional institutions are opening new pathways to capital. But Caribbean ports must first turn their modernisation and decarbonisation ambitions into credible, measurable and bankable projects. Caribbean ports are being asked to modernise ageing infrastructure, digitalise cargo processes, strengthen resilience and security, and prepare for the decarbonisation of maritime transport—all at […]
MV Barima Disaster Puts Guyana’s Ferry Safety and Hinterland Connectivity Under Scrutiny
At least ten bodies have been recovered after the MV Barima capsized off Guyana’s coast, as an expanding search operation continues for passengers and crew still unaccounted for. The government-operated passenger and cargo ferry overturned late on Saturday, July 18, while travelling to Port Kaituma in Guyana’s north-western Region One. Authorities said the vessel had […]
From capacity building to project support: Darwin Telemaque ’s next vision for PMAC
In conversation with Darwin Telemaque — CEO, Antigua Port Authority and Chairman, Port Management Association of the Caribbean (PMAC), at the association’s 29th Annual General Meeting, held in Paramaribo, Suriname, from 8 to 10 July 2026. “Shipping is not an option for us.” For Darwin Telemaque, that simple statement explains why Caribbean ports occupy such […]
Caribbean ports move toward a common environmental framework
Environmental performance is becoming a strategic priority for Caribbean ports, but measuring progress consistently across the region has remained a challenge. That is the objective behind CariPorts II, a regional initiative presented in the latest issue of Caribbean Maritime, the official journal of the Caribbean Shipping Association (CSA). Officially launched on 17 October 2025, the […]
BVI Ports Authority targets stronger landside cargo operations with new Port Purcell warehouse project
As Caribbean ports seek to improve cargo throughput without necessarily expanding their waterfront footprint, investment is increasingly shifting toward landside logistics infrastructure. The British Virgin Islands Ports Authority (BVIPA) has taken a step in that direction by launching a procurement process for a new general cargo warehouse at Port Purcell, Tortola. Beyond the construction project […]
PMAC 29th Annual General Meeting – Shore power alone won’t decarbonise Caribbean ports
For Caribbean ports, shore power is often framed as an infrastructure challenge: install the connection, bring electricity to the berth and allow ships to switch off their auxiliary engines while alongside. A discussion at the 29th Annual General Meeting of the Port Management Association of the Caribbean (PMAC) in Paramaribo suggested a more difficult reality. […]
LAC ’s 2024 port hierarchy reveals more than a stable top tier
Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) ’s container port hierarchy has a remarkably familiar top tier. In 2024, Santos remained the region’s largest container port, handling 5.48 million TEU. Manzanillo in Mexico followed with 3.92 million TEU, while Cartagena Bay ranked third at 3.70 million TEU. The striking point is not simply their scale. It […]