PORT OF THE YEAR WINNER
Port of the year 2021 Freeport Container Port “We are thrilled”. These were the words of delighted chief executive Alan Dixon when asked by Caribbean Maritime magazine for his reaction to Freeport Container Port (FCP) winning The Ludlow Stewart Container Port of the Year Award 2021. The Caribbean Shipping Association (CSA) has been organizing its Port of the Year Award for 34 years. The Award has traditionally been a key feature of the gala dinner at the CSA’s October Annual General Meeting. Unfortunately, and in contrast to previous years (2020 excepted), there was no in-person AGM in 2021 due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. However, and to underline the importance the CSA attaches to the award, immediate past president Juan Carlos Croston and general manager Milaika Capella-Ras and Roland Malins-Smith all travelled to Grand Bahama to make the presentation to FCP.
Competition It’s fair to say that FCP fought off some tough competition to claim the 2021 title with both DP World Caucedo and Barbados Port chasing the Grand Bahama-based terminal all the way to the finish line. There were several key reasons for FCP clinching the award. For example, FCP saw an impressive 20 plus per cent increase in its box throughput in 2021 – from 1.26 million to 1.6 million TEU. Some of this growth was undoubtedly due to serious congestion issues that have plagued many US ports in recent months, but this doesn’t tell the whole story and Mr Dixon insisted that much of the additional volume was generated by customers on existing routes, including more South American reefer traffic.
12 Caribbean Maritime | February- May 2022
But having been knocked sideways by the devastating impact in 2019 of Hurricane Dorian – a category 5 storm that killed 74 people in The Bahamas (including 22 in Grand Bahama itself) with many more missing believed dead, FCP says it is now better equipped to face a similar event in the future. Dorian was the strongest hurricane ever to hit The Bahamas.
Highlight In accepting the award, Mr Dixon also wanted to highlight FCP’s efforts to reduce its emissions. He cited FCP’s fleet of seven three-high Kalmar hybrid straddle carriers – which are all-electric designed with Tare- 4 engines to prevent adding carbon to the environment – as evidence of this. These were delivered in February 2020. Corporate Social Responsibility is another key area in which FCP scored highly with the judges, who recognized the terminal’s local environmental efforts in running its ‘Go Green’ initiative for the past eight years with projects including beach cleaning and tree planting. Looking to next year, Mr Dixon said: “While the award has been huge for us, and retaining the title would be nice, we are not seeking awards”. And, as he sees it, it’s all part of an urge to do better.
FCP saw an impressive 20 plus per cent increase in its box throughput in 2021 – from 1.26 million to 1.6 million TEU”
