The Government of Trinidad and Tobago was focusing on improving the Maritime Industry, since there were many cargo delays caused by the low level of port operations of the Port of Spain and Point Lisas. These high costs of doing business were impeding competitiveness of the country, demonstrating a need to increase the efficiency of existing ports and potentially develop a new port. It is in this context that the Government of Trinidad and Tobago retained Nathan Associates to conduct a port rationalization strategy.

The Nathan team developed a detailed analysis of the port sector in Trinidad and Tobago, including domestic containerized cargo flows, secondary regional transshipment market, and the broader regional transshipment hub potential.

First, the team analyzed trade lines from Asia, Europe, the Americas, and Caribbean islands. There was a focus on various transshipment hubs and the size of vessels deployed in order to create a transshipment model. The team provided a detailed analysis of commodities that were currently containerized in the country, and assessed the potential for increased containerization.

The regional analysis included an overview of global ship size revolution and implications for Trinidad and Tobago due to its proximity to the Panama Canal. The team also created a demand forecast for Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean that included the impact of the widening of the Panama Canal on the transshipment activity in the region.

Lastly, Nathan also provided a competitive analysis of container facilities in the region and a detailed SWOT analysis for the facilities. Through these analyses, the team provided details on opportunities and challenges specific to Trinidad and Tobago port sector development.