By Deandrea Hamilton

Editor

#TurksandCaicos, July 15, 2022 – Revenues were up 25 percent for the Turks and Caicos Islands Ports Authority over last year and that meant goods brought into the islands achieved record breaking levels; a bitter sweet accomplishment for the British overseas territory.

“I am sure you will agree, the performance of a nation’s ports is an important barometer of the strength of its economy. There was a rebound in shipping during the year.  We received 754 vessel calls, which was a 21% increase over 2019/20. We recorded a 59% increase in imported cargo volumes in 2021/22. We handled 594,498 tons of cargo compared to 374,194 tons in the previous year.

The rebound in shipping had positive implications for our revenues, we ended the year with a revenue outturn of $6,928,891, which was 25% higher than estimated,” reported Urban Francis, Chairman of the Ports Authority at the Annual General Meeting held on June 23, 2022.

Nearly 600,000 tons of cargo came in and the earnings for the Ports Authority is leading to some major re-investments to modernize ports spaces in the country.

“My fellow Directors and I are proud of the many infrastructure developments taking place on ‘our watch, with a planned investment of about $60 million.’ This will be our legacy. We are pleased that we have projects taking place on all Islands such as the Welcome Center, Master Plan, phase 2 and dredging at Bellefield Landing, North Caicos; and the South Caicos Port Rehabilitation Project,” informed Mr. Francis.

Staff motivation efforts also ranked high in the report by the Chairman, from staff longevity and training hours, to community projects and regional leadership which he surmised helped in the Ports Authority’s brand awareness.

“The Ports Authority continues to develop positive brand identity through our community Outreach program, while giving back to the communities we serve. During the year we:

• recognized our Nurses on International Nurse’s Day;
• collaborated with the Social Welfare Department to bring Christmas cheer to fifty (50) foster children;
• recognized local seafarers in our publications;
• held an Online Photography Contest to select photos for our 2022 Calendar; and
• supported the Middle Caicos Valentine’s Day Cup.

Internationally, the Ports Authority hosted the 24^th Annual Meeting of the Port Management Association of the Caribbean in June 2021. At end of the meeting, we were awarded the Nova Port Cup, which represented the best performing member port, based on several objective KPIs. Our Director of Ports was also elected Vice Chairman of the association for a 2-year term of office.”

Seven major staff development achievements were cited in the meeting held at the Sands at Grace Bay.

“One Thousand and One Hundred and Ninety (1,190) hours of staff training was undertaken, an average of 22 hours per staff.

We promoted Ms. Shawna Lewis and Ms. Sharea Rigby to the positions of Deputy Director and Financial Controller, respectively. Mrs. Sharona Walkin and Mr. Pierre Clerveaux were promoted to positions of Port Facility Security Officer and Safety Officer at South Dock, Provo, respectively; while Mr. Ronadio Roberts of the Grand Turk port and Mr. Jarrad Forbes of the Provo port were promoted to the position for Security Supervisor.

Fourteen (14) staff completed ten years of service, and were celebrated on November 11^th, 2021 at an event held at Beaches Resort; we also bade farewell to Mr. Walter Hanchell, a stalwart of the Ports Authority.”

There were scholarships and professional upgrades.

“Three Hundred and Ninety-Two (392) hours of external virtual staff training was sponsored.  Four female officers benefited from scholarships with the Galilee International Management Institute in Israel, resulting in them building capacity in advance security and port management.

Three (3) staff benefited from tertiary level scholarships, sponsored by the Ports Authority.

We sponsored 2 oil spill managements training workshops for over 29 participants; consisting of our staff and stakeholders to build response capability and an organizational restructuring exercise commenced, to have in place an effective structure which maximizes productivity and staff job satisfaction.”

In order to improve the operations and chart a clear path for the future of the Ports Authority, there was consultancy; efforts to vesting crown land assets; a review of the strategic plan and a safety risk assessment among other initiatives.

The Chairman said they would have liked to have signed next phase agreements for port developments underway in the family islands, but that was not to be in the fiscal period.

“Whilst we able to close the tenders for Phase 1 and 2 and the Port office complex associated with the Redevelopment of South Dock, Provo; and the Bellefield Landing Boat Slips project, we are disappointed that we unable to sign contracts for these projects during 2021/22.”

Francis wrapped up his report with a look to the future.

“Some key work plans for upcoming year include: Concluding arrangements to commence Phases 1 and 2 and the Port office Complex associated with the Redevelopment of South Dock, Provo and the Bellefield Landing Boat Slips project; Implementation of agreed recommendations for Organizational Restructuring Exercise; Concluding stevedoring arrangements;Organizational Culture reforms; Preparation of a work plan take forward observations from the risks. assessment of port approaches and internal waters of the TCI; Introduction of Port Emergencies Management Plan prepared by the Organization of American States for PMAC; Preparation of Port Maintenance Dredging Policies and Plans; Concluding arrangements for PMAC Data Intelligence Project to improve statistics  and an evaluation of the impact of our public awareness programs.”

The Minister of Border Services, with ports in his portfolio, Arlington Musgrove was thanked, “for his unwavering support and continued confidence in the Board and Staff.”

The meeting was held at the conference room of the Atrium, Leeward, Providenciales.