## **_Container Transshipment Activity_**

**Vieux Fort in St. Lucia is the only port in the OECS dedicated to transshipment and one of the few designed to be a container terminal.** The rest are dedicated to trade, mainly imports. These ports host occasional transshipment activities, but these are small and yield very little revenue. Transshipment ports require that space for storing and shifting containers be designed and used in a highly effective manner, without obstructing warehouses in either the yard or the pier. Vieux Fort, the only true dedicated transshipment port in the OECS, is also the only one whose operations are set up to facilitate private participation (through a subsidiary of the St. Lucia Air and Sea Ports Authority that has yet to be privatized).

# **c. General Cargo**

**The tonnage of overall general cargo traffic in the region decreased by 24 percent in 2008–12.** This indicates that the OECS ports are slowly moving from the break-bulk era into the containerization era. Except for Long Point (which experienced a 24 percent increase) and Woodbridge Bay (a 1 percent increase), the OECS ports showed a decline during this period (table 2.5). The Port of Vieux Fort experienced the largest decline, at 48 percent, during the period. General cargo in Vieux Fort, mainly imports, represented only 20 percent of the business of this dedicated transshipment port. Out of ten shipments, only two are bulk (and this includes dry and liquid bulk). Another reason why general cargo has declined in the region is that interisland transportation costs are very high, and maritime logistics are inadequate.

**Most general cargo is for interisland trade within the Caribbean, moved by operators on small vessels called schooners.**<sup>12</sup> As is the case with container traffic, the OECS countries are also net importers of general cargo. Imports are predominantly produce from Trinidad and Tobago; internal agricultural production is limited. Additionally, hotels generally import the majority of the goods for their operations, including food.

**St. George is host to 45 percent of total general cargo traffic in the region (table 2.5).** Imports to the region account for 90 percent of such traffic. Most imports into Grenada are from Trinidad and Tobago. Grenada’s main agricultural exports include nutmeg and cocoa; the country has been trying to recover its market share since these crops were destroyed by Hurricane Ivan in 2004.

**Table 2.5 General Cargo Traffic, 2008 and 2012**

|**Port**|**Tonn**|**es**|**Gro**|**wth**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||**2008**|**2012**|**Change (%)**|**AAGR (%)**|
|St. John’s|445,234|288,986|-35|-10|
|Woodbridge Bay/Roseau|26,962|27,142|+1|0|
|St. George’s|503,887|461,479|-8|-2|
|Basseterre|151,917|105,313|-31|-8|
|LongPoint|2,947|3,661|+24|+31|
|Castries|123,721|82,627|-33|-9|
|Vieux Fort|55,868|28,787|-48|-14|
|Campden Park/Kingstown|56,649|34,272|-40|-11|
|**Total**|**1,367,185**|**1,032,267**|**-24**|**-7**|

_Source:_ Authors’ own elaboration on primary data. _Note:_ AAGR = average annual growth rate; OECS = Organization of Eastern Caribbean States.

> 12 Schooners are typically sailing vessels converted into small cargo vessels.

15