Country Information:

International telephopne Code: 868

Capital: Port of Spain

Official Language: English

Area: 5,128 square km (1,980 square miles)

Population: 1,120,000

Currency: Trinidad & Tobago dollar

Public Holidays: New Year's Day Good Friday Easter Monday Whit Monday Corpus Christi Labor Day (June) Emancipation Day (Aug) Independence Day (Aug) Republic Day (Dec) Christmas Day (25 Dec) Boxing Day (26 Dec)

Organizations: ACP, C, Caricom, CCC, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-24, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO

The Shipping Association of Trinidad & Tobago was formed as a registered trade union on 29 April 1938 specifically to negotiate with the Seamen & Waterfront Trade Union (SWWTU) on behalf of its members. The association was born out of strike action that took place towards the end of 1919.

Convoys: At the outbreak of World War II, the Shipping Association, the SWWTU and the port authority were kept very busy as Port of Spain was a marshalling point for the North Atlantic and US convoys. There were seldom fewer than 20 ships at anchor off the port.

In 1968 the Government nationalized the stevedoring operations at the port. This act by the Government was viewed by many as the death knell of the Shipping Association, as its function as an employers of labor was removed.

While the association was no longer an employer of labor, it still had a very important role to play on the waterfront and met regularly with both the port authority and the new stevedoring firm, Port Contractors, to discuss and resolve problems which continued to occur with great regularity.

Since 1968 the aims and direction of the association have slowly changed from an employer of labor to supporting its members by negotiating with the port authority and shipping and maritime authorities. The association also provides training, lectures and seminars to assist members in developing shipping expertise.

Pilotage: The association has been represented on the pilotage authority and provides one of the commissioners of the port. In addition, the association is represented on almost every committee involved with shipping and, of course, the Shipping Association of Trinidad & Tobago is one of the founding members of the Caribbean Shipping Association.

Review: The Shipping Association of Trinidad & Tobago has recognized that change is inevitable. It has reviewed its rules to accommodate changing trading patterns. Instead of its members being exclusively agents or representatives of foreign shipping lines, the association has among its members the port authority, state shipping companies, ship chandlers, regional shipping lines, schooner operations, shipping consultants and surveyors. Observer status to the maritime division of the Ministry of Works, Infrastructure & Decentralization has been granted in an effort to develop a greater awareness of the importance of shipping in Government circles.