MARITIME CHRONICLES

THE UPS AND DOWNS OF TURN-AROUND TIMES IN LATIN AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN CONTAINER PORTS

By: Jan Hoffmann, Head, Trade Logistics Branch, Division on Technology and Logistics, UNCTAD

Over the last decades, year after year, container ports have improved their efficiency. While volumes and port call sizes increased, the time a typical container ship spent in port had slowly but surely continued to decrease. Since the outset of the covid-19 pandemic, however, the tide has turned, and times have significantly increased. Between the first semester of 2020 and the second Semester of 2021, the global median time a containership spent in port went up by 21%.

CRUISES: THE INDUSTRY THAT LEADS WITH PURPOSE

By: Lucas Bueno. Trade Marketing Managerfor Latin America and the Caribbean. Royal Caribbean International

My name is Lucas Bueno, I am from Argentina and I am currently the Trade Marketing Manager of Royal Caribbean International for Latin America and the Caribbean. It is an honor to have been invited by the MAMLa Network to talk about this great industry and the impact it has on the world. Early in my career, I had the opportunity to work in different tourism sectors such as agencies and airlines, but I was also a crew member of Royal for almost 10 years.

SOME CHALLENGES FOR THE PORT SECTOR

By: Jorge Durán, Head of the Secretariat, Inter-American Committee on Ports (CIP) of the Organization of American States

The design and digitization of port management processes in Latin America and the Caribbean was already underway before the COVID19 pandemic. However, the pandemic served to accelerate this digitization and make it one of the main priorities for the sector. Digitalization in ports makes port management more efficient (fast and paperless) and at the same time, avoids human errors and makes it more secure.