Transshipment Accounts for 44% of Port of Spain Container Activity Through August

Transshipment represented 44.2% of reported container activity at the Port of Port of Spain through August 2026, according to Port Authority of Trinidad and Tobago data. CMA CGM and MSC together accounted for more than 80% of total container volumes and over 95% of transshipment traffic during the period.

Transshipment represents 44% of container activity

Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago — September 2026. Transshipment continues to account for a substantial share of container activity at the Port of Port of Spain, highlighting the terminal’s role beyond the domestic import and export market.

Data published by the Port Authority of Trinidad and Tobago show a total of 198,551 TEUs across reported container activities between January and August 2026. Of this volume, 58,519 TEUs were classified as empty transshipment containers and another 29,276 TEUs as full transshipment containers.

Combined, the two categories reached 87,795 TEUs, equivalent to approximately 44.2% of total reported container activity over the eight-month period.

The authority separately recorded 20,013 restows, covering containers temporarily discharged and reloaded onto the same vessel. These movements are not included in our transshipment calculation, as they represent a different operational category.

CMA CGM accounts for more than half of reported traffic

CMA CGM is by far the largest carrier represented in the Port Authority’s 2026 statistics.

The French shipping group accounted for 107,638 TEUs through August, representing approximately 54.2% of all reported container activity at Port of Spain.

Transshipment forms a major part of that activity. CMA CGM handled 41,636 TEUs of empty transshipment containers and 17,588 TEUs of full transshipment cargo, for a combined 59,224 TEUs.

That means transshipment represented around 55% of CMA CGM’s reported Port of Spain activity during the period.

Imports accounted for a further 16,929 TEUs, while exports reached 4,473 TEUs. Local empty containers and restows represented the remainder.

The figures illustrate how CMA CGM’s use of Port of Spain extends well beyond Trinidad and Tobago’s local cargo market, although the statistics do not identify the origins or final destinations of individual transshipment flows.

CMA CGM and MSC dominate transshipment volumes

MSC is the second-largest carrier in the Port Authority data, with 54,361 TEUs reported through August 2026, equivalent to approximately 27.4% of total activity.

MSC recorded 15,889 TEUs of empty transshipment traffic and 8,653 TEUs of full transshipment traffic, bringing its total transshipment activity to 24,542 TEUs.

Together, CMA CGM and MSC therefore represented approximately 81.6% of all container activity reported at Port of Spain during the first eight months of 2026.

Their position is even stronger in transshipment. The two carriers accounted for approximately 95.4% of the port’s reported transshipment volumes.

The gap with other carriers is significant. COS recorded 11,614 TEUs, ONE 8,687 TEUs, ZIM 6,357 TEUs and MFT 6,278 TEUs over the same period.

2026 carrier volumes show a changing mix

Comparison with the same period in 2025 also shows different trajectories for the two largest carriers.

CMA CGM recorded 108,535 TEUs between January and August 2025, compared with 107,638 TEUs in 2026, leaving its reported volume broadly stable at around 0.8% lower year-on-year.

MSC moved in the opposite direction. Its reported volume declined from 86,922 TEUs during January-August 2025 to 54,361 TEUs in 2026, a decrease of approximately 37.5%.

The Port Authority statistics document the change in carrier volumes but do not identify the commercial or network decisions behind it.

For Port of Spain, the broader picture remains clear: transshipment is a major component of container activity, and that role is currently highly concentrated around two global shipping networks.

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