PORT ST. MAARTEN

ST. MAARTEN FIRST TO HANDLE NEW GENESISTYPE VESSELS

It was one of the first ports in the Caribbean to be able to handle the new Genesis-type cruise ships, the largest in the world. It is also attracting a growing number of shipping lines looking for a transhipment sub-hub they can rely on.

St. Maarten’s duty-free status has always been a marketing advantage for visitors and shippers alike. In addition, the Port St. Maarten Group wants to take things to the next level. Never content to rest on its laurels, it is always seeking new opportunities to deliver a wider range of quality services to its partners.

In order to achieve this, Port St. Maarten keeps in close contact with cruise lines, shipping lines and other industry players to keep informed about what they need and when they will need it. By staying ahead of the game, Port St. Maarten is always in a good position to accommodate new vessels and new customers.

Port St. Maarten has maintained St. Maarten’s competitive edge in the north-east Caribbean through constant research and strategic planning as well as through partnerships and collaborations with leading industry players. These associations have led to dynamic growth in all sectors.

Over the past decades the Group has inve as invested more than US$100 million into infrastructure and equipment and the focus for the future is on investing in personnel and processes to continue to improve efficiency. Over the same timeframe Port St. Maarten has been transformed into a much more commercially orientated operation.

A milestone was reached in 2014 when over two million cruise passengers were received. This success is not so much an accident of location – although that helps – but more the result of a systematic approach and good customer focus by Port St. Maarten, which is keen to provide the best facilities in the industry. This is one of the benefits of holding longterm agreements with the major lines.

In 2007, with one berth already in operation capable of accommodating four cruise ships simultaneously, Port St. Maarten took the facility to the next level and built a second cruise pier. St. Maarten is now one of the few ports in the Caribbean capable of receiving the world’s largest cruise ships. These are the Genesis-class vessels of over 220,000 gross tons each with a capacity of more than 6,000 passengers and crew.

Pier 1 is 545 metres in length and can accommodate up to four vessels simultaneously. Pier 2, with a length of 445 meters, was opened in 2009 and can accommodate two