Interest shown in operating Port St. Maarten by Global Ports Holding (GPH) led to quite a bit of speculation. That prompted an explanation by the company in this newspaper, publicly stating its intentions already discussed with the Council of Ministers, Members of Parliament (MPs) and the Chamber of Commerce.
Port St. Maarten had just announced it would issue a request for proposals (RFP) to reach its strategic goal of attracting a partner for the long term (20-25 years), which could comprise private port operators and/or cruise lines. One of the main reasons is the need for capital in view of the government-owned company’s debt said to be between US $180 and $200 million.
GPH would pay that off and invest between $60 and $85 million in the cruise facilities plus $25 million in the cargo section. It will then obviously collect the passenger head charge, mooring fees, etcetera, and give government an unspecified share of the revenues.
Concern was expressed by, among others, the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) for creating uncertainly as to whom its members will be dealing with. They apparently prefer this to be the country itself and not a third party.
At the same time, there is a trend whereby cruise lines are shifting towards “own” secluded small islands and other Northeastern Caribbean ports that have now recovered from the major hurricanes of September 2017. The destination needs to take these developments into consideration.
One understandable fear is that independent operators can raise, for example, container handling fees and drive up local consumer prices as happened in the past, or charge cruise ships and passengers more, with all possible consequences. However, these matters can be well-regulated by contract beforehand.
There had been alarming reports about issues with cruise lines when GPH signed a concession for the cruise terminal of Antigua, but the company said these were based on misinformation. That’s obviously something to investigate further if it is selected as candidate in St. Maarten.
People must not forget that the harbour company was allegedly embezzled out of some $11 million under government’s watch and had to pay Zebec another $10 million because of a supposedly “botched” property rights deal. Perhaps putting its operations in private hands with the proper safeguards is not the worst thing in the world.