A very high proportion of cargo from or for Caribbean countries has no equivalent return cargo . Short-sea shipping, which connects the islands with Panama and Caribbean and North American transshipment centers. Deep-sea shipping, which uses larger vessels to transport cargo directly from the Caribbean to its final destinations in Europe, Asia and other regions. Shipments of non-Caribbean cargo which passes through the Caribbean due to its location at the crossroads of major trading routes. This cargo is increasingly transshipped at Caribbean ports.
Public ports are open for all cargoes, which are usually break bulk and containers.
Transshipment centers are specialized ports or terminals which handle mainly containers which do not enter or originate from the country itself. The above figure illustrates how transshipment of non Caribbean cargo and local shipments mutually benefit each other . Local trade is represented by line L, which slopes upward as the volume of transshipped cargo increases. Transshipped cargo is represented by line T, which slopes upward as the volume of local trade increases. If transshipment increases this can be represented by the new dashed line.