(PointeXpress)One of the main shipping lines that bring cargo into the St. John’s Harbour weekly, Tropical Shipping, diverted two of its largest vessels into the harbour on Sunday because of the swells caused by the passage of Hurricane Lee. But according to Port Manager, Mr. Darwin Telemaque, the shipping line chose the St. John’s Harbour as a safe port because of the swells and high tide that had been affecting several islands in the Western Caribbean.
The two vessels – Tropic Jewel and Tropic Unity – contained cargo that was destined to other islands that were off-loaded in Antigua and Barbuda for transshipment elsewhere. As a result, many of the supermarkets and other importers were able to receive their weekly goods a day earlier than normal.
However, according to Telemaque the most important outcome from this exercise was the ability of the St. John’s Harbour to demonstrate to Tropical Shipping that its level of efficiency in its operation makes a strong case for it to be considered seriously as a transshipment point for the shipping line. He reported that the vessels off-loaded 122 containers from the Tropical Jewel, which arrived first by midday.
“This was done much to the surprise of Tropical Shipping as our staff lead by acting Terminal manager, Dale Phillips, and his team executed brilliantly and the first vessel was able to be discharged in less than six hours. The excellent work of the team exceeded what the shipping line had anticipated,” he disclosed.
The port manager said there have been ongoing discussions with Tropical Shipping to make use of the Dt. John’s Harbour as a transshipment hub for goods destined to the rest of the Caribbean. He is of the view that the efficiency of the operations demonstrated over the last two days has made a strong case for that to become a reality.
“What we are seeing is that the port is able to execute in ways that it could not have done before. These are two large vessels and we were able to clear them in record time. I am hoping that Tropical takes notice of this a decide that this is the place to do it,” he indicated.
