Caribbean hub port competition hots up

摘要

Container shipping lines are not short of choice when it comes to the selection of Caribbean transhipment hubs. There are plenty of well-established terminal facilities in this particular market, and these will be supplemented in the short- and medium-term by fresh alternatives. CSX World Terminals, for instance, is soon to open up its Caucedo project in the Dominican Republic, which will intensify competition among regional terminal operators for transhipment business still more. Looking a bit further ahead, the Puerto Rican Government aims to have a major new transhipment facility operational by 2007. Growth prospects for transhipment activity in the Caribbean are rated generally positively, and this is helping to attract some of the world's leading international port operating groups to the area. Curtis Foltz, vice president for Latin America at CSX World Terminals, commented: 'We continue to be very bullish on transhipment forecasts for the region. When looking historically at the primary sites that have opened over the past 10 years, they have all experienced significant growth. Global and regional carrier forecasts point towards further use of transhipment sites as lines move towards larger vessels, as carrier alliances expand and as smaller ports are unable to accommodate these ever growing requirements.'