As an island Jamaica will continue to have an important role
for maritime transport in its long-term development. It should
be noted that Jamaica’s water-based transport subsector
is almost entirely represented by deep-sea maritime transport,
as inland waterways and short-sea coastal shipping play
insignificant roles in the island’s transport sector. There is
no gainsaying that Jamaica is a maritime State by virtue of its
dominant regional transshipment hub, premier cruise ship
terminals and other well-developed maritime transportation
infrastructure. Jamaica’s Transport Policy, specifically as
it relates to the maritime transport sub-sector, seeks to
ensure sustainability and to protect any competitive
advantage we may have at this time in the areas of
transshipment, cruise shipping and bulk cargoes. The mission
of the Transport portfolio of the Ministry is to provide safe and
sustainable transport systems for the movement of people
and goods. This is to be undertaken in the three modes of
transportation, these being, land, sea and air.
