Puerto Rico positions itself as a regional cruise hub
Puerto Rico expected approximately 1.9 million cruise passengers during the season discussed at the 2025 FCCA Cruise Conference, a figure that reflects both the scale of its cruise industry and the island’s growing ambitions within the Caribbean market. While many destinations across the region are competing to attract additional cruise calls, Puerto Rico is pursuing […]
Cruise lines warn against excessive taxation and policy instability
A proposed federal immigration fee for cruise passengers in Mexico became one of the most closely watched policy issues referenced during the 2025 FCCA Cruise Conference in Puerto Rico. The debate was highlighted by Vicky Rey, Vice President of Government Affairs for Latin America at Carnival Corporation & plc, who pointed to the measure as […]
Why homeporting is becoming the Caribbean’s next strategic battleground
For decades, success in the Caribbean cruise industry was often measured by the number of ship calls a destination could attract. Today, a different competition is taking shape. Across the region, ports and tourism authorities are increasingly focused on securing homeport operations rather than simply welcoming transit passengers. The distinction is significant. While a traditional […]
The transformation of decision-making channels in global travel: strategic lessons for the LAC region
Amadeus’ Travel Dreams 2026 report documents the emergence of artificial intelligence as a leading driver of inspiration and decision-making in travel. For regional transport stakeholders, the shift calls for a new strategic reading. At the end of 2025, Amadeus released Travel Dreams 2026: From data to delight, a study conducted by UK-based agency Opinium Research […]
What empty container movements say about Caribbean trade imbalances
Container traffic statistics often focus on loaded cargo. Yet one of the most revealing figures in Port of Spain’s latest throughput data is not the number of full containers moving through the terminal, but the volume of empty ones. In 2025, the Trinidadian port handled 95,049 TEUs of transshipment empty containers, compared with 86,806 TEUs […]
The Caribbean cruise industry enters a new growth cycle
The Caribbean cruise industry is entering a new expansion cycle — one increasingly shaped by infrastructure capacity, premium travel demand, operational competitiveness and long-term destination strategy rather than passenger growth alone. Discussions held during the 2025 FCCA Cruise Conference & Trade Show in San Juan reflected the scale of that transition. At the time, industry […]
CMA CGM and MSC tighten their grip on Port of Spain ’s container traffic
Two global shipping groups dominated container activity at Port of Spain in 2025, reinforcing the concentration trends shaping Caribbean liner shipping networks. Data published by the Port Authority of Trinidad and Tobago show that CMA CGM and MSC together accounted for the vast majority of container throughput handled at the Trinidadian port during the year. […]
Saint Lucia seeks a unified maritime voice amid growing regional pressures
As Caribbean shipping enters a more demanding operational and regulatory environment, Saint Lucia is attempting to strengthen something many smaller maritime jurisdictions across the region have historically struggled to build: a coordinated industry voice. The creation of the Saint Lucia Chamber of Shipping marks a significant step in that direction. Presented in recent coverage by […]
Port of Spain ’s container rebound reinforces Trinidad’s role in Southern Caribbean shipping
Port of Spain handled 357,820 TEUs in 2025, marking its strongest annual container performance in more than a decade and confirming the port’s growing importance within Southern Caribbean shipping networks. The figures, published by the Port Authority of Trinidad and Tobago, also reveal the scale of transshipment activity underpinning Trinidad and Tobago’s maritime positioning. The […]
How Port Purcell outperformed larger Caribbean terminals in 2025
For years, the Caribbean’s container port hierarchy has largely been dominated by the region’s major transshipment hubs. Larger facilities in Jamaica, The Bahamas or Trinidad typically attract most of the attention when conversations turn to cargo performance, infrastructure investment and regional competitiveness. That is what made the 2025 results of the Caribbean Shipping Association’s Ludlow […]
Curaçao wants to turn BuskaBaai into a new maritime-industrial cluster
Curaçao is positioning its maritime sector at the centre of a broader economic redevelopment strategy, with the Dok–BuskaBaai zone emerging as one of the island’s most ambitious industrial and logistics projects in years. Recent discussions highlighted in Caribbean Maritime Magazine show that the government, public-sector entities and private maritime stakeholders are now aligning around a […]
Biofuels emerge as the Caribbean’s most realistic maritime transition fuel
As pressure builds on the global shipping industry to reduce emissions, the Caribbean is approaching a critical phase in its own maritime energy transition. Cruise operators, cargo carriers and port authorities are all facing growing expectations around decarbonisation, yet the region’s operational realities leave little room for expensive or highly complex solutions. In that context, […]