(CMR) Concerns have again been raised about safety at the George Town cargo port as news emerged that the two cranes at the facility broke down recently, setting back operations at the facility.
Last Thursday, the lone operating crane broke down after removing a small number of containers from a ship. The second crane at the facility had broken down late last year. CMR has been told one crane is now working, but the other needs extensive repairs.
The cranes are said to be getting old, and there are concerns they have not been properly maintained. While the cranes are old, CMR understands cranes can last for decades once they are properly maintained.
However, concerns about the facility have been extended to other areas, with workers concerned about their safety on the job, CMR has been informed.
CMR has been told that over the past two years, the Port Authority, which recorded an operating loss of 1.3 million in 2022, has not completed its Standard Operating Procedure, Safety Manual or Succession Plan. The Port Authority is also reportedly still not in compliance with the Public Authorities Act.
Concerns about safety and other issues at the port have been called to the Minister's attention before.
Just last year, Minister of Port and Tourism Kenneth Bryan said there was a need for expansion at the port. He said a strategic outline case (SOC) concerning the expansion of the cargo port was accepted by the Cabinet, and approval had been granted to proceed with the development of an outline business case for this project.
Bryan said the Government was taking a proactive approach to address the capacity issue at the cargo port, an issue that must be addressed for the country's food security.
He pointed out that cargo ships currently coming into Cayman are getting old and are reaching the end of their life span, which means they will be replaced with newer, larger ships. With the new cargo ships much wider, he said larger cranes will be required.
“The strategic outline case has outlined that the capacity to bring goods through the port are currently stretched. And the reality is that within 10 years we will also be nearing the capacity of the vehicles that are currently calling here. Taken together, this means that that the port will not be able to handle the level of cargo required to support our growing economy and population,” Bryan added.
In 2019, acting director Joseph Wood said when the port was constructed back in the 1970s, the population was 12,000, and there were 25,000 tons of cargo coming in.
Back then, he pointed out that the port was being operated with the same infrastructure with little to no enhancement handling hundreds of thousands of tons of cargo.
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