CSA Past Presidents - Frank Wellnitz

Frank Wellnitz

1991-94 Germany

Frank Wellnitz is the only CSA president to have been born outside the region.

As Hapag-Lloyd’s regional representative, Frank attended his first CSA meeting in Miami in 1975. He recognized the CSA as an important forum to address Caribbean maritime and related issues, focusing on the Caribbean people. He became a member.

Over the years and due to shifting sides from vessel owner to vessel agent, more than once, he has been member of the council representing vessel owners and shipping agents. As vessel owner he was able to recognize agency concerns and vice-versa as an agent.

In 1988 at a meeting in Jamaica he was elected CSA vice president, subsequently in 1991, in Martinique he was elected president. During that same meeting he was the rapporteur of a symposium on The Future of Caribbean Maritime Transportation.

As Immediate Past President he became steering committee chairman and founding member of the Silver Club. His passion was the education of young people and to financially support and grow an ongoing training program. He and like-minded colleagues established a training trust fund and up until 2015 he was its chairman.

It was the CSA, which was instrumental in forming and supporting Frank in his career moves and it was here where he needed to ‘sell’ the idea of his ‘ship driver’ concept – the basis for Caribbean Feeder Services.

In October 2016 during an AGM in Port of Spain the CSA presented him with a Citation.