Once a booming logistics hub, handling thousands of tonnes of sugar every year, Barbados now seeks to reclaim its mantle as the key transhipment hub for the Caribbean and South America, while also maintaining its charm for cruise ship calls. It’s a difficult balancing act, as David Jean-Marie, who heads Barbados Port Inc, points out. “It is not the best thing to have multi-million-dollar cruise vessels coming to dock in the cargo port and having the passengers looking at where we are handling other goods,” he says. But the company, which took over the running of the port from the state-run port authority in 2004, has big plans for the future. A $100 million project is already underway for the reorganisation of the port facility, with new equipment and deeper draughts ensuring even the biggest cargo vessels can be catered to – great news for Barbadian exporters as they ramp up production as part of the Going Global initiative. Meanwhile, a new $250-million cruise facility is on the cards, which will create a better separation between business and pleasure. A plan to develop home porting will also boost numbers at the port, which handled an average of 387 cruise calls per year from 2009-2013.

Perspective

David Jean-Marie
Managing director and CEO of Barbados Port Inc

TRC: What role does the port play in the Going Global programme?

DJM: The port is doing its part to encourage and facilitate exports. We recently agreed to have all exports free of port charges. Our port is compliant with all types of international standards in terms of security and quality.