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Este informe no está disponible en español. CARIBBEAN BUSINESSHual’s San Juan Transshipment Port Is A GoTranshipment operator is first to use Pier 15 as base of Caribbean operations BY MARIALBA MARTINEZJanuary 25, 2001 Hual North America Inc.’s transshipment operation in Puerto Rico will begin Jan. 27 with the arrival of its vessel, the Hual Trove, at Puerta de Tierra’s newly renovated Pier 15, said Bob Leith, president of Puerto Rico Line and Hual’s shipping agent in the Caribbean since 1996. "Hual inaugurates a $1.2 million facility, newly paved and with additional illumination and security to safeguard their regularly scheduled shipments of cars, trucks, yachts, and heavy construction machinery. Last year’s agreement with the Ports Authority calls for the exclusive lease of 5.5 acres with options for additional years, at a yearly cost of $127,500. We will also have preferential use of the assigned dock," said Leith, noting that only yards away is where his company pioneered the use of containers for cargo transportation back in the 1970s. According to Leith, Hual has been waiting for four years for this expansion. "We have decided to improve and continue out transshipment operation from the San Juan area. Should a new transshipment port be constructed in the southern part of Puerto Rico, we will study what the possibility would be of moving our operation. But we can’t wait anymore for this transshipment port." Last year, the Ports Authority invested more than $3 million in the renovation of piers 15 and 16 in Puerta de Tierra and several piers in Puerto Nuevo, including the removal of debris and hazardous materials, plus the area’s illumination. Companies that relocated from other docks are slowly reclaiming Pier 15’s almost 40 acres. But Hual is the first transshipment operator to use pier 15 as a base for its Caribbean operations. The company brings cargo from Japan, Korea, and European ports and distributes it to ports in the Caribbean and South America, among them Georgetown, Santo Domingo, Point-a-Pitre, Bridgetown, Kingston, and Paramibo. "We are already considering expanding our docking facilities to the west, as waterfront area becomes available. This space allows us to separate break bulk cargo, much of which is steel rods, from the vehicle cargo," said Leith. This Caribbean Business article appears courtesy of Casiano Communications.
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