Business View Caribbean | April 2019

47 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN APRIL 2019 capital city of Plymouth. Over the next five years, two-thirds of the island’s population of 12,000 were forced to flee, primarily to the United Kingdom. Volcanic activity continues to affect the Plymouth area, including its docking facilities, and the eastern side of the island. Meanwhile, a new capital town and port are being developed at Little Bay, on the northwest coast of the island, and the new government centre is at Brades, a short distance away. Joseph O’Garro who was previously employed at the telecommunications company, Cable & Wireless / LIME for a number of years, assumed the post of Port Manager in April, 2013. Being resident on Montserrat throughout the entire crisis, he is fully versed in the island’s physical and economic challenges. Priority number one: getting back to business. O’Garro reports on current operations, “We are a multi-purpose facility. As the only jetty that exists on the island, and as an international port of call, we handle primarily roll-on, roll-off containerized cargo, statistically about a thousand TEUs (twenty foot equivalent units) per year. Our ferry service runs daily between Port Little Bay and Antigua during festival peak season - that is Christmas to St. Patrick’s Day. The rest of the year, the ferry service operates five to six days a week, with one day set aside for maintenance purposes. The Port Authority also handle cruise passengers. The primary line coming calling on Montserrat is Windstar Cruises, averaging 14 to 16 calls per year. There are a number of smaller vessels that call on an ad hoc basis.” Port Plymouth, while still in the exclusion zone, handles project cargo and aggregate exports with access to the area closely managed by the Disaster Management Coordination Agency (DMCA) and enforced by the Royal Montserrat Police Service (RMPS). On average, about 270,000 tons of aggregate are exported on an annual basis. Presently, there is other notable activity, involving a geothermal drill rig from the Iceland Drilling Corporation that is being dismantled and exported for relocation. The Montserrat Port Authority has 46 employees; the Security department complement accounting for the largest numbers. As an International Ship and Port Facility Security Code (ISPS) compliant facility, security officers are on duty 24 hours a day, assisted by compound-wide surveillance camera coverage. The Authority also employs labor for cargo-handling operations. Other Departments include Fleet and Facilities (infrastructure), Operations, Accounting and Administration/Human Resources. O’Garro recalls, “When the volcano erupted, we had to abandon Plymouth. It is now considered an exclusion zone where access is closely regulated and managed by the Disaster Management Coordination Agency in collaboration with the Royal Montserrat Police Service. All our warehouse and office facilities in Plymouth MONTSERRAT PORT AUTHOR I TY