JAMPRO session sets out practical steps to ease sea-export bottlenecks at Kingston terminals

Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO) has hosted an exporter information session focused on cutting avoidable delays when goods leave the island by sea, drawing together private‑sector guidance and on‑the‑ground rules from the capital’s container terminals.

Corine Williams, director of sales and marketing at Seaboard Freight and Shipping Jamaica Limited, told participants that deep‑sea shipping remains the workhorse for large, long‑haul movements, with liner services offering broad global reach either on direct strings or through transhipment hubs. She urged exporters to settle commercial terms up front—whether arrangements closer to ex works, free on board, cost‑insurance‑freight or a delivered‑duty‑paid style move—so each party knows who pays freight, insurance and duties.

On equipment, Williams outlined how the familiar 20‑foot and 40‑foot boxes differ in height options such as high‑cube units suited to stackable cargo, and she stressed reading each container’s capacity plate for maximum gross weight and tare weight so loads stay within safe limits for road and vessel stowage plans. For shipments that will not fill a box, she described less‑than‑container‑load consolidation as a flexible route for smaller lots or test volumes, while cautioning that LCL is not automatically cheaper: she recommended pricing LCL against a full 20‑foot move whenever a consignment reaches a few hundred cubic feet, then choosing the better value.

Williams also highlighted core shipping documents—among them packing lists, commercial invoices, certificates of origin where trade preferences apply, bills of lading, and phytosanitary or dangerous‑goods paperwork when relevant—and warned that sloppy paperwork triggers amendments, fees and lost time. Among operational pitfalls she tied to hold‑ups were missing port appointments to collect empties or return laden units, late requests for overtime without notice, unclear marks and labels for fragile or hazardous pieces, weak cargo insurance uptake, last‑minute bookings without clarity on direct versus transhipped routings, and ignoring destination rules on packaging, wood treatment or label content.

During questions, Williams acknowledged that multi‑port vessel schedules mean delays can cascade when one call is missed; she pointed to Caribbean berth congestion as a wider pressure, while noting expansion projects at Kingston Freeport Terminal Limited (KFTL) and Kingston Wharves aimed at adding capacity. Clifford Anglin, KFTL manager for gate operations and special cargo, underscored that trucks must hold valid Port Authority registration and driver port IDs, carry appointments in the port community system, and match cargo integrity paperwork—including seal numbers and verified gross mass declarations—to the box actually at the gate; he cited recent cases of mismatched container numbers and understated weights that disrupt vessel stability planning. Anglin added that KFTL is investing in additional cranes, yard equipment and landside development to lift throughput.

Simone Murdoch, client experience manager at Kingston Wharves, aligned with those points on documentation and appointments, clarifying that exporters can book many full‑container moves until 3:30 p.m. on the day of the 4:00 p.m. Friday export cut‑off, while overtime should be requested by midday; she set Tuesday 2:00 p.m. and Thursday 2:00 p.m. pre‑sailing deadlines for certain consolidated LCL flows tied to midweek Cayman and Friday Miami sailings. She also flagged a recurring problem of trucks entering before Jamaica Customs has passed the export entry, which forces escorted exits and fresh delays.

Organisers positioned the sea module within a wider JAMPRO exporter series that also featured sessions on air options and risk management, and they promoted follow‑up tools such as JAMPRO’s online exporter readiness checker for firms mapping gaps before going global.