Business
Minister Heyliger-Marten met CMA CGM after it moved transshipment from Pointe Blanche to Guadeloupe
After CMA CGM re-routed its transshipment operations from Pointe Blanche to Guadeloupe, Tourism and Economic Affairs Minister Grisha Heyliger-Marten and Port St. Maarten CEO Alex Gumbs met the company in France, and both sides agreed to study whether cargo volumes justified a feeder service, according to the government.
By SXM Daily ·
Reported 2 October 2024.
Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT) Grisha Heyliger-Marten met shipping company CMA CGM at its headquarters in France after it moved its transshipment operations from Pointe Blanche to Guadeloupe, according to the Government of Sint Maarten.
Illustrative: cruise ships at Philipsburg. Photo: Luigi Rosa / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
Why the ships moved
According to the government, CMA CGM made the change to comply with International Maritime Organization rules pushing transatlantic vessels to switch to liquefied natural gas (LNG) to cut carbon emissions. The port at Pointe Blanche is not deep enough for the LNG-powered vessels, the government said.
The government said the re-routing was expected to affect the Super U wholesaler in Marigot more than businesses on the Dutch side, which rely mainly on shipping from the United States.
The meeting
The minister met Jean-Baptiste Lumineau, CMA CGM's Director of Finance and Infrastructure, during an official trip to a yachting conference in Monaco. Her delegation included Port St. Maarten Group chief executive Alex Gumbs. According to the government, Lumineau explained that Kingston, Jamaica, was the company's main feeder hub for the Caribbean, while Guadeloupe offered assets for agricultural products and exports.
CMA CGM and Port St. Maarten agreed to evaluate the cargo volumes moving into the Eastern Caribbean to see whether they justified establishing or enhancing a feeder service, the government said. "We had a frank exchange of valuable information," Heyliger-Marten said.
Sources
Source: https://www.sintmaartengov.org/news/pages/Grisha-Meets-with-CMA-CGM-Over-Transshipment-Issues.aspx