bvc_june2017

38 39 The Port of Belize was first established by the Belize Port Au- thority and run by the government until 2002,when it was privat- ized and sold to shareholders. In 2012,Vasquez was appointed its CEO and Receiver by British Caribbean Bank,which took the Port over because of unpaid debts by its private owner.“The Port con- tinues in operation as an ongoing business,” says Vasquez,who was committed from the first to manage the Port without any disrup- tion of services, and has since made good on that promise. “Currently, we have about 145 staff,” he relates. “There are about ten in management; there is a warehouse operation; there’s staff that handles the cargo operation; there is maintenance; a mechanic shop; and the administrative staff –human resources and the information technology department. 40 to 45 are security officers. The Port has its own security company; we do not employ external security THE PORT OF BELIZE AT A GLANCE THE PORT OF BELIZE WHAT: The country’s major shipping port WHERE: Belize City, Belize WEBSITE: www.portofbelize. com services.We believe it is more secure to have your own security officers and company. In addition, we have 150 stevedores who work independent of the office staff to load and offload the cargo ves- sels when they’re in port.” The Port compound, itself, houses the container yard, a large warehouse for less than container cargo, a main administrative building, a building for the operations department, and one for the fully-equipped mechanic shop.“Any flagged ship can come to Belize,” says Vasquez.“The Port Au- thority provides permission to shipping agents in Belize who are the representatives of the inter- national shipping and cruise lines.They can only operate through a local shipping agent.” Making it easier for those agents to operate has been one of the Port’s recent achievements. “Over the last five years, there have been signif- Over the last five years, there have been significant automation and IT improvements. That brings a lot of efficiencies to the Port. We have an online portal where shipping agents can identify and follow a container from the time that it comes into the port, when it leaves, and when it’s coming back. Those are very important services that we provide for the shipping agents that never existed before. ARTURO VASQUEZ PORT OF BELIZE’S CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER