The local maritime industry is built principally on servicing the local energy industry and growing non-energy transshipment trade. The industry has also developed competitive ancillary sectors in bunkering, marine construction and ship repair. Given the positive outlook for the energy industry over the next 10 to 15 years, and the opportunity for capturing a greater proportion of the transshipment trade locally, as well as, our favorable geographical position, prospects for developing a viable and competitive local maritime cluster is possible.

Currently, market opportunities exist in some key areas, such as:

• Transshipment trade
• Ship repair
• Marine construction
• Small and large vessel ownership
• Ship registration
• Financial and development services

ADVANTAGES

• Strategic location: Trinidad and Tobago is centrally located on the divide of North and South America, safely below the hurricane belt, in natural safe zones, and is proximal to existing shipping lanes
• Advantageous existing trade agreements with our neighboring countries, including those with CARICOM, the WTO, Costa Rica, Colombia, the Dominican Republic and Cuba
• Strong exporting base: Trinidad and Tobago is presently the largest exporter of methanol and ammonia in the world. We are also the largest supplier of LNG to the United States, and we continue to have a vibrant exploration, production and refinery sub-sector
• We are the manufacturing center of the Caribbean and are a major transshipment sub-hub for containerized cargo
• Trinidad and Tobago is home to a thriving maritime sub-sector servicing the unique needs of the domestic energy sector. These include: liquid bulk transport, rig maintenance and pipe laying services, waste oil collection barges and high-speed crew and emergency response services
• We have a stable political atmosphere, low cost of living, high educational standards and high quality of life
• We’re in the process of creating an internationally-accredited maritime training institution
  

For more information on Trinidad and Tobago's Merchant Marine Industry, visit the Trinidad & Tobago Shipbuilding & Repair Cluster and the Shipping Association of Trinidad & Tobago websites.