CSA Past presidents - Corah Ann Sylvester

Corah Ann Sylvester

2003-06 Jamaica

Jamaica’s Corah Ann Sylvester is the CSA’s first and, so far, only female president. Corah Ann started her shipping career as line manager at Kirk Line before being made its Sales and Marketing Manager and project manager for Coastal Shipping/ Interseas. This was followed by a time as director of sales and marketing Jamaica Freight & Shipping. Since 2003, Corah Ann has been CEO at Seaboard Freight & Shipping Jamaica – a subsidiary of Miami-based Seaboard Marine.

Corah Ann’s many other positions include being a director of both the Shipping Association of Jamaica and Assessment Recoveries (ARL) and more recently chairperson of the Maritime Authority of Jamaica (MAJ) and board member of Kingston’s Advantum. During her chair of MAJ, Corah Ann has led Jamaica in two elections to a seat in Category C of the Council of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), 2017 and 2019. This was to champion the cause of the Caribbean region in keeping pace with developments in the maritime industry and environment. In addition, Corah Ann has previously served as director of the Port Authority of Jamaica and council member of the Caribbean Maritime University.

In 2000 she was elected the first female Vice-President of the Caribbean Shipping Association (CSA) in New Orleans, USA. In 2003 she became the first female President of the CSA, serving from 2003-2006 in Montego Bay, Jamaica.

Corah Ann has thanked fellow CSA presidents Grantley Stephenson, David Harding and Rawle Baddaloo for their strong support. She says: “Tears still comes to my eyes when I think about that time. I was struggling against thinly disguised misogyny. Some of the things said to me were: ‘I had just had a baby, why was I pushing to become President’; ‘Why is a little lady like you running for president? Do you really think you can manage such a big responsibility?’Well, suffice it to say that these remarks did not deter me, they only made me stronger and the records shows the achievements of the CSA under my leadership.

“Rawle Baddaloo, a past president who supported me, said: “We had to break the glass ceiling,’ but I did not just break the glass ceiling in the Caribbean maritime world, I kicked it through.”

During her three-year presidency, Corah Ann’s achievements were many. But among the most notable were the successful regional implementation of ISPS, the creation of a port relief fund for hurricanehit Grenada, encouraging smaller Caribbean states to establish shipping associations, the addition of an NVOCC group with the CSA and generally raising the international profile of the Association as its first female president.