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| Raymond L. Jones. Chief Operating Officer of FCP and FHC and GBAC |
Since opening ten years ago, Freeport Container Port has become one the region’s busiest transshipment hubs and Grand Bahama’s single biggest driver of growth. Its success owes everything to its strategic location, private ownership, and the free-market attitude of The Bahamas and city of Freeport – a 230-square-mile free trade zone. Another plus is the warm relationship that exists between The Bahamas and United States.
Sitting in the heart of international shipping lanes, Freeport Container Port is a few hours steaming distance from U.S. ports. Moreover, the deep-water facility can handle the world’s biggest ships.
The facility is located in Freeport Harbor and operated around the clock by Freeport Container Port. A private venture, it’s owned and operated by Hutchison Port Holdings – the world’s leading port investor, developer, and operator – Hutchison Port Holdings is part of Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa Limited.
“The difference between Freeport and other places is that here you have a private company called the Grand Bahama Port Authority, which made an agreement with the government dating to 1955 to develop the infrastructure for the city of Freeport,” noted Christopher Gray, Freeport Harbor Company’s CEO and president. “This relationship results in no red tape here
“Here, the entire harbor is private,” he continued. “So when there is a need to expand, it’s just a question of laying out the master plan and after consultation with the Port Authority and obtaining the necessary approvals the expansion pro-ject moves forward.”
The Port Authority is responsible for licensing business in the Freeport area.
The Freeport Container Port bustles with cargo containers, cranes, and ships being off-loaded. Because it’s 65 miles from Ft. Lauderdale, the port gets special scrutiny from the Department of Homeland Security.
The port works closely with U.S. officials to screen containers – and this includes looking for signs of radiation. One concern related to a potential terrorist attack is that shipping containers could be used to smuggle fissionable materials, or perhaps even a radio active “dirty bomb,” into the United States.
Reflecting its close ties with Washington, The Bahamas was the first Caribbean nation to sign onto the U.S. Megaports Initiative in 2005. Through this effort, the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration works with foreign partners to detect shipping containers containing illegal and radioactive materials.
The container port’s biggest customer is Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), the world’s second largest container carrier.
Ninety nine percent of all the traffic here is handled by MSC.
Captain Nicola Arena, president and CEO of Mediterranean Shipping Company, USA, said in a separate phone interview, “Freeport is comparable to ports in the U.S.” in terms of quality.
Last year, the facility handled 31 percent more containers than the previous year, part of an ongoing trend in growth, according to Hutchinson’s website.
To facilitate Freeport’s distinction as an international shipping crossroads – and gateway to the Americas – the Freeport Harbour Company operates a Sea Air Business Center, consisting of nearly 741 acres of land earmarked for the development of warehouses and distribution facilities, situated between Freeport Container Port and the Grand Bahama International Airport and its 11,000-foot runway.
Freeport with its privately owned airport, harbour and container terminal is connected to a global network of 47 ports, served by the second largest shipping line in the world and operated in a tax-free jurisdiction. It offers considerable advantages to international companies.
Economically, the container port has been good for Freeport, employing more than 900 Bahamians contributing about $25 to $30 million (annually) into the local economy from wages alone. This and other related investments make the port one of the biggest engines of economic growth on the island.
The container port is tied to a global economy, hence its revenue is immune from the economic dips and shocks as suffered by the tourism sector which is oriented to the U.S.
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