CASTRIES, St Lucia — Participants have commended the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and government of Singapore for a timely, relevant and instructive workshop, on port management and operations in the OECS, held from April 26-29, 2016. The workshop brought together OECS port managers and supervisors from all OECS member states including Martinique, its newest member.

The workshop was facilitated through the OECS-Singapore joint cooperation programme and was conducted by the Singaporean consultancy firm ST Education & Training (STET) Maritime Pte Ltd, global leaders in maritime education and training services.

Training was provided in the areas of port management, port planning, port safety and efficiency, emergency preparedness and the best practices of the Singapore port and terminal management techniques. The training was conducted through a series of lectures, discussions, video presentations and case studies of Singapore’s ports and terminals. 

Participants also engaged in group activities for fostering cooperation and teamwork; designing and preparing port plans and developing marketing strategies for OECS ports. Upon completion, participants received training certificates from STET as well as certificates of participation from the OECS-Singapore joint cooperation programme.

Darwin Telemaque, chairman of the recently formed OECS Port Management Committee who was in attendance, praised the workshop’s success and said that he was quite impressed with the instructors, the training material and the high level discussions among his fellow port managers in the region. 

He further remarked that the training, which was very beneficial for the OECS Port Management Committee, would go a long way in implementing their goals and objectives of improving the efficiency and competitiveness of ports as they prepare to facilitate the free circulation of goods within the OECS Economic Union.

Also in attendance was Glenn Roach, executive secretary of the Port Management Association of the Caribbean (PMAC), who thanked the OECS Commission for inviting them to participate in the training. He pronounced that it was an excellent initiative toward strengthening cooperation between the OECS and PMAC as they tackle issues facing port management and operations within the Caribbean.

The OECS Commission expressed its gratitude to the government of Singapore for its commitment to this technical cooperation programme with the OECS. Both parties have already held discussions with regard to regularizing the regional training on an annual basis as well as providing opportunities for OECS officials to participate in training activities in Singapore.