Jamaica Looks at Bunkering Future

Developing Jamaica’s bunkering capabilities will be the subject of a day-long workshop in Kingston on November 30 when stakeholders from throughout Jamaica will discuss its future development.

The Nanyang Technological University of Singapore has been engaged to carry out a bunkering study, with the support of the Commonwealth Secretariat.

The team of consultants from Nanyang will host the workshop as part of a three-day fact-finding mission to Jamaica where they will also visit the country’s bunkering facilities and meet  with stakeholders in the bunkering and maritime industries.

MAJ Director of Shipping and Policy Research, Dr Eric Deans [pictured in thumb image], explained: “A successful and competitive bunkering hub will have a positive impact on the dynamism of the Jamaican maritime cluster. Working with the Nanyang team we aim to analyse the current and future bunkering markets and identify the necessary Government policies, regulatory framework and operational requirements needed to advance this sector for the Caribbean region.”

A report by the Commonwealth Secretariat earlier this year identified Jamaica as an active maritime centre with considerable potential for growth as a bunkering station. The report noted Kingston’s strategic location in relation to the north-south and east-west shipping routes and observed that Jamaica, which is already very active in the areas of transshipment, ship registry, cruise and maritime training, has strong potential to become truly competitive in a host of other maritime and related activities, including shipping services, marine insurance, banking, legal services, dry docking and bunkering.