New President and Vice President will be elected

Caribbean Shipping interests will start gathering next week for their highly anticipated Caribbean Shipping Association’s (CSA) 52nd Annual General Meeting (AGM), Conference and Exhibition in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Slated to run from October 31 to November 2, the event, which is being held at the Sheraton Puerto Rico Hotel & Casino, will see more than 300 executives from the maritime industry attending.

Hosted by the Puerto Rico Shipping Association, the event will attract shipping and logistics executives, allied service providers, and industry experts representing leading companies in the regional maritime industry for discussions on issues and developments affecting the sector, as well as the opportunities they present.

The AGM will include the election of the Association’s president and vice-president for the 2022-2023 period. There will be a presentation to the Monica Silvera Scholarship recipient, who will receive a tuition grant for their tenure at Jamaica’s Caribbean Maritime University.

Conference details

The keynote speaker for the conference is renowned trends analyst Daniel Levine. Levine is the director of the Avant-Guide Institute, a New York-based consultancy that provides services to some of the world’s largest companies and brands. Dubbed ‘the ultimate guru of cool’ by CNN, Levine has worked with several notable businesses, including General Motors, American Express, Christian Dior and the United Nations World Tourism Organization.

Other notable presenters include the International Maritime Organization’s regional coordinator, Colin Young, who will present on the body’s project within the region; Daniel Van der Vliet, executive director of the Smith Family Business Initiative at Cornell University; Roberto Aiello, principal regional energy specialist of the Inter-American Development Bank; and Lars Jensen, CEO of Vespucci Maritime, who will share his outlook for the supply chain and logistics.

Among the conference topics to be explored are maritime law; changing the narrative surrounding family business; decarbonization; mentorship; cruise terminal development; climate change; and maritime cybersecurity, with expert presenters and panelists being engaged to share their knowledge.

The winner of the Ludlow Stewart Container Port of the Year Award will be announced at the conference’s Gala on November 2. The prestigious honour is given to the port with the best performance, measured against its own performance in the previous year, across 10 key categories.

The three-day agenda also includes numerous networking opportunities for attendees including a welcome cocktail, exhibition, port tour, cultural events, golf outing and the gala event. The CSA was established in 1971 and is the central voice for the region’s maritime industry.

It boasts membership of more than 100 individual members and 12 national shipping organisations which represent interests in the private and public sectors across the entire Caribbean and South, Central and North American ports.