Business View Caribbean | November 2020

52 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN NOVEMBER 2020 Lagoon area. Through SLAC, Port St. Maarten oversees the operations and maintenance of the bridges which enable ships and yachts to enter the Simpson Bay Lagoon. This is where most of the yachts visiting St. Maarten moor and dock. “Our yachting season runs from October to the end of March,” says Simmonds, “so as far as the timeline of the pandemic, the off season allowed for preparation and establishing of protocols in time for season resumption in October. The yachting industry has quite high established standards with regards to on board protocols, and the scaled down passenger volume per vessel in comparison with cruise should allow for a positive return to the destination. We are starting to see the yachts return for our season, which gives hope for the destinations Economic recovery, though, will take time for us to recover from the complete loss of tourism that was experienced this year.” As for technological enhancements, the Port has been fully automated since 2009, thanks to the implementation of GLS software developed by IT Partner. GLS is used for port management, container, general cargo, and ro-ro operations, dock master/berth planning, cruise, and ultra- yacht services, as well as billing and invoicing. In addition to GLS, the Port Community System (PCS) was rolled out in 2019 and operates as an extension to the Ports Terminal Operating System (TOS). The software is a secure cloud-based solution with several web-based and app-based applications. Various parties besides the Port, such as agencies, shipping companies, ministries and customs utilize the software. The Port has since been welcomed to the International Port Community Systems Association (IPCSA) as its first Caribbean region member. “We pride ourselves on being at the forefront of digitalization and optimization of our systems,” says Simmonds. “Our goal is sustainable business development within the Port ecosystem and with such advancements we are able to achieve this objective.”