More than steel, water

How do you go about creating a buoyant maritime industry?  Especially if you’re a country that does not have a very strong tradition as a maritime nation? That’s the question that’s been plaguing members of the Merchant Marine Industry Team (MMIT) over the past year or so, as they’ve worked on developing a strategic plan for the long-term development of the domestic maritime transport industry. The team shared its strategic plan for the long-term and sustainable development of the domestic maritime industry with over 200 stakeholders recently  at the Cara Suites Hotel and Conference Centre in Claxton Bay.

The Team comprises several private sector players, members of the labour movement and government officials, and is one of seven industry development teams set up by the Ministry of Trade and Industry — under the auspices of the Prime Minister’s Standing Committee on Business Development — to create strategic development plans to enhance and ensure the sustainability of certain industrial sectors. Developing a reputation as a serious maritime nation was never really a priority.  Until now…

The wake-up call has come, literally, as a result of developments in the country’s cash cow — the energy sector — a significant portion of which is dependent on the merchant marine industry. All the most recent research points to a very active and lucrative petroleum and petro-chemicals sector over the next 10-15 years.  The reality is that all that “black gold” and those petro-products will need to be transported, by ship, to the destination markets in North America, Europe and even the Far East. This means that there is an excellent case for getting serious about the local maritime transport industry, and exploiting the potential that is there by developing a strong industry.  Bottom line: conditions are right for the development of a buoyant domestic maritime industry right now.

Why all the optimism?
To capitalise on revenues generated by the petro sector, Government is developing as many industries as possible, including some from the petroleum sector itself.  There are also opportunities via the upstream activity associated with the petroleum industry, which generate a certain amount of activity in the maritime sector.  Trinidad already possesses a healthy, non-petroleum maritime sector, in terms of cargo and shipping, from our two major ports — the Port Authority of Port-of-Spain, and the Port of Point Lisas. The next logical step would be to capitalise on the opportunities in the petroleum sector itself.

There is concern that Trinidad and Tobago is entering the game a bit late, especially when you consider that we’ll be competing against industry giants such as Suez, Panama and Singapore, and other vibrant ports in the region.  But the prospects for the maritime industry in TT are very good. One reason is that the new fifth generation container ships cannot go through the Suez Canal because they are so large.  Their route is through South Africa and past TT.  We are the perfect catchment area for developing South-South trade, and this is an opportunity for us to provide services they need. This has been heartened by Port Point Lisas’ success, especially as it too was a late player in the transhipment game. The Point Lisas formula for success was simple: They carefully examined successful international ports and emulated their positive practices, while strategically avoiding any pitfalls they would have made along the way.

The maritime team  looked at several development models: Malta in their development of a vibrant maritime industry and expertise in maritime law and legislation; and Singapore, for their success with the transhipment business. The focus is on the ancillary services that are associated with the maritime industry, particularly training and information technology, among others.  What is envisioned is a thriving domestic maritime industry in which we own many ships for transhipment purposes, manned by as many locals as possible, particularly at the officer and management levels.

A few challenges
The domestic maritime industry, like many others, has seen its share of difficulty over the past two or three decades.  The major problems that have persisted through that time include: a lack of financial support for the industry; no internationally accredited training facilities at which locals can be prepared to reach the level of officers and management; an institutional system which has not grown as rapidly as that required by developments in the global maritime industry. At present, not many locals are operating at officer or management level particularly because of the limited supply of qualified professionals relative to demand.  One solution is the creation of a Maritime Academy or Faculty at the University of Trinidad and Tobago, which will be an internationally accredited training institution.

The public perception is that only the uneducated or unskilled go into the maritime industry and become sailors and deckhands, has persisted over the years.   To correct this misconception, the MMIT will be launching a series of public awareness programmes to encourage more young people to think about a career in the domestic maritime industry. Another critical issue is the vessels themselves, which would be used for the transhipment. For energy cargo, these specialised vessels require people who are specially trained to manage and operate them. Like the airline industry, which requires continuous training and upgrading for its pilots and other technical staff, the merchant marine industry makes the same demands on those serving on specialised vessels.