2007, May 16: Mayaguez, PR: The Caribbean Shipping Association has taken another initiative to expand regional maritime training and has started discussions with the Catholic University of Ponce (Puerto Rico) to develop an academic programme.

This was disclosed by CSA President Fernando Rivera in his opening address at the sixth Caribbean Shipping Executives Conference in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, on May 14.

The sixth conference of shipping executives of the Caribbean area featured three days of discussions about cargo and cruise business in the Region. Over 100 corporate executives from several Caribbean, Central American and South American territories, attended the event, held annually by the Caribbean Shipping Association (CSA).

The first two days of the conference, May 14 and 15, were dedicated to cargo business. Presentations on the third day focused on the cruise industry. On Sunday May 13, CSA Standing Committees met at the Mayaguez Resort hotel, the venue of the conference.

In his opening remarks, CSA President, Fernando Rivera said: “I have initiated talks with the Catholic University of Ponce with a view to establishing a maritime training programme, in collaboration with the CSA. I will say no more at this stage, as talks are still in progress. This is the first step in a Caribbean-wide CSA initiative, the details of which I will announce when the plans are more solid. Suffice it to say, training is one of my main priorities as your new President.”

The Caribbean Shipping Executives Conference is an event designed to inform, update and empower administrative and operations executives in the Region’s shipping industry. In its short history, it has become a significant item on the Caribbean’s annual shipping calendar.

The Mayaguez conference received presentations from Puerto Rico’s Secretary of State, Fernando Bonilla; Barbados’ Minister of Tourism and International Transport, Honourable Noel Lynch; Dr. Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry Director of the International Labour Organization (ILO); Rick Murrell, President and CEO of Tropical Shipping; Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, Secretary General of the Caribbean Tourism Organization and Mai Elmar, Executive Director of Cruise Europe, among other leaders of corporate shipping entities.

The conference observed a moment of silence in memory of the CSA’s Founding President, Peter Evelyn. It was only last October (2006), in Panama that the CSA honoured Mr. Evelyn for his work in helping to establish the CSA and becoming its first President. President Fernando Rivera said: “Those who know Peter Evelyn will attest to the fact that he was a fine, knowledgeable man, soft-spoken and even-tempered. Peter was wise beyond his years and his dedication to duty and service was well known throughout the shipping fraternity in this hemisphere. Peter Evelyn was Jamaica’s gift to the Caribbean shipping industry, a gift which in which we found great value; a gift for which we were very grateful. Peter Evelyn will never be forgotten in the history of Caribbean shipping.”