ACS Secretary General Delivers the Keynote Address for webinar on Short Sea Shipping Services in the Southern Caribbean
The Secretary General of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS), H.E. Rodolfo Sabonge, participated in a webinar on Short Sea Shipping (SSS) Services in the Southern Caribbean Region, hosted by the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) on Tuesday 9th April, 2024. His Excellency delivered the keynote address for the webinar, highlighting fundamental maritime transport and trade issues related to regional shipping demand and capacity, climate, infrastructure, decarbonisation, digitalisation in shipping operations, legal frameworks and compliance with international regulations in the Caribbean.
The webinar brought together approximately seventy persons across global and regional maritime, transport and educational bodies, including Mr Brendan Cooley from International Maritimes Services (IMS), who presented on technical management, crewing and environmental issues in short sea shipping; Dr Maria Kekakou from the University of the Aegan, who shared the experience of short sea ferry services in Greece; Dr Jan Hoffmann from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) who presented on the advantages of liner shipping connectivity in the region; Mr Eduardo Lugo from Maritime & Logistics Consulting Group, S.A., who shared insights from his study on a regional ferry service in the Eastern Caribbean; and Mr Adrian Beharry from the UTT, who presented an economic model for a ROPAX ferry service in the Southern Caribbean.
The Association of Caribbean States is the organization for consultation, cooperation and concerted action in trade, transport, sustainable tourism and natural disasters in the Greater Caribbean. Its Member States are Antigua & Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Panama, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago and Venezuela. Its Associate Members are Aruba, Curacao, (France on behalf of French Guiana, Saint Barthelemy and Saint Martin ), Guadeloupe, Martinique, Sint Maarten, (The Netherlands on behalf of Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius ), Turks and Caicos.