Jamaica to host Port Management Association of the Caribbean Conference

JAMAICA WILL host the 21st annual general meeting (AGM) and Conference of the Port Management Association of Caribbean (PMAC) over three days between June 27 to June 29 at the Jewel Resort and Spa in St Ann. The conference is held each year in a different Caribbean country and was held in Grand Cayman last year.

Presenters will include representatives from all over the region, such as the project coordinator from the Organization of American States’ (OAS) Inter-American Committee on Ports (CIP), Mona Swoboda, who will lead discussions on the regional CIP Disaster Management and Emergency Response initiative. The PMAC AGM will be “a very important platform” for promoting this multilateral initiative, says CIP Secretary, Jorge Duran.

SPEAKERS

Additional speakers include Dr Grantley Stephenson, chief executive officer of Kingston Wharves Limited, who will present on the diversification of ports and logistics, and Will Lusk, programme manager, from OCEANS LLC, who will be joined by Max J. Bobys, vicepresident of HudsonCyber, to speak on maritime transportation and cybersecurity. Dr Grantley Stephenson, representing Kingston Wharves Limited, who is the PLATINUM sponsor of the event.

The wide cross section of persons to be featured will result in a range of topics to be discussed. These will include the following: ‘Smart Port, Supply Chain Visibility, Ports Connectivity/ Platform’ by Gordon Foote, Business Development Executive, IBM’.

‘Digital Innovation in the Port Sector: Barriers and Facilitators’ by Erica Simmons, executive director, Dr Andrew Wheatley Centre for Digital Innovation and Advanced Manufacturing, CDIAM.

‘Port Productivity Platform – Enabling Connectivity, Efficiency, and Information Sharing’ by Nishant Pillai, VP Sales Americas, 1-Stop Connections Pty Limited.

‘Building Cost-Effective in House Port Asset Inspection and Inventory Tracking Capacity Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Technology’ by Danker Kolijn, coastal engineer, CBCL Engineering Limited.

It is PMAC’s mission to foster operational and financial efficiency and to enhance the level of service to the mutual benefit of Caribbean ports and their stakeholders through the sharing of experience, training, information and ideas. To achieve this, it has forged partnerships with numerous regional stakeholders such as the Caribbean Maritime University, the Association of Caribbean States, the Caribbean Shipping Association, the American Association of Port Authorities, the Gulf Ports Association of the Americas, the Inter-American Committee on Ports of the Organization of American States, the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency and the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States.

The activities will include an opening ceremony featuring keynote speaker, Minister of Education Youth and Information Senator Ruel Reid, the Launch of CMU’s academic journal, a special cultural event dubbed ‘Jamaica Night’ as well as technical sessions and an awards dinner.