The Port of Port-of-Spain does not have the level of productivity to accommodate business from the expanded Panama Canal which is due to be inaugurated on June 26. Acting general manager of the Port Authority Charmaine Lewis, who admitted this yesterday, said serious consideration is being given to partnering with a foreign investor to address issues facing the port.
"We feel they would bring their knowledge, their expertise, their systems and their market, because we are looking at the big players. We feel there is an opportunity to partner and we can leverage from their position in the market," she said when she spoke at the conference, Panchayat on the Panama Canal: Business Opportunities and Challenges for T&T, at the Arthur Lok jack Graduate School of Business, Mt Hope yesterday.
Lewis said among the challenges facing the port is its high overtime bill. She said the Port Authority is working with the representative union to implement new work practices.
In terms of land and nautical matters, Lewis said the port is unable to accommodate larger vessels.
"We can accommodate a vessel with length of approximately 295 metres at this time. We don't have the correct depth at this time for the drafts of 15 metres," she said.
"The harbor should at least be a depth of 12.5 metres to accommodate the large vessels. For those vessels with a draft of 15.2 metres your harbor should be at least 17 metres.
"One has to be able to satisfy industry standards in terms of productivity and customer service. The shipping lines are interested in your productivity, how fast you can turn your ships around."
Lewis said there are standards the port has to achieve if it is "seeking to be in the game" to get the container business.
The Panama Canal expansion project, doubles the capacity of that waterway by increasing the number of ships, adding a new lane of traffic, and increasing the size of ships by increasing the maximum allowed width and height. The new larger size of ships, called New Panamax, is about one and a half times the current Panamax size and can carry over twice as much cargo.