By Elesha George

Connect Caribe – a private sector led regional ferry service company – has partnered with the JamPro group operating out of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to implement a private sector solution to address maritime travel in the Southern Caribbean.

“We’ve entered into an agreement with them, and they will be providing our first set of ships which are being acquired as we speak, and very soon will be on their way to the Caribbean waters,” shared Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Upturn Funds Caribbean/Pleion Group Inc., Dr Andre Thomas.

The new shipping partner will provide a fleet of ships that will accelerate their launch date which was originally set for November 2024.

“We are going to begin with a lot more ships but slightly smaller ships that would go to many more places, and we will begin with a lot more emphasis on the cargo element and also travel,” he added.

From there, Dr Thomas said the consortium of companies will build towards acquiring the larger cruise ships which will carry approximately 800 to 1,000 people each in the second acquisition phase. “Our intention was to have two cruise ships and one large cargo ship. That’s changed with our partnership with JamPro we’re going to have a lot more cargo ships above five, six, seven,” he said.

This will assist in cargo going to and from more Caribbean islands much faster. Connect Caribe will roll out its cargo service in phases using data-driven information provided by the CARICOM Private Sector Organization (CPSO) Secretariat. “We’ll go where the data tells us to go and where we have premium/ideal conditions at the port of destination,” he explained.

Jampro, with over 30 years of experience in the field, has their own shipyard and they repair ships which make it easier for the success of the ferry service.

Connect Caribe is also in discussion with the African Export-Import Bank to develop a payment settlement system to facilitate e-commerce. “The African Exim Bank has an initiative called CAAPS that we are working with,” he mentioned. “I believe it will be game-changing for Caribbean economies because what it will do, it will allow a woman who is based in Guyana to produce soaps from the Amazon and sell it to a woman in Barbados,” he explained.