Introduction:

Cuba’s economy fully depends on foreign trade and this isn’t likely to
change in several years. This makes Cuban ports a major concern to
Cuba’s government and citizen.
It’s important to know that Cuba believes that their major source of
growth could be not because of cargo shipment, but because of cruise
passengers.
During the 80’s Cuba lived a golden age when we refer to port usage.
But now the country's ports fell to just 3mn tones in 2008, from about
12mn a year in the 1980s.
The island's largest port, Havana, has a capacity of 1.2mn tones but
handles just 600,000-700,000 tones a year
Principal Ports
There are 3 principal ports in Cuba:
a) Havana Port: Is the largest and most important port in
Cuba. Key component of Cuba’s economic developing.
Havana port can handle a wide range of cargo and cruise
passengers. The harbor offers 41 berths. The cruise
terminal has 6 of those berths.
b) Santiago de Cuba Port: This port is the second largest
port. It has a entrance channel ok 80 meters. The port
has a capacity to operate 13 vessels simultaneously. This
port can also receive cruises.
c) Cienfuegos port: Third in importance in Cuba. It is the
marketing and processing center of one of the most
productive regions in Cuba. There is movement of rum,
fish canneries sugarcane, tobacco, coffee and rice. There
is land for future development. There are no cruise
terminals here.
History of port concessions
 In Cuba the first concession was approved in 1998. It was
a joint venture between Cubanco, S.A. (Cuban company)
and Silares Terminales del Caribe (Italian company). The
purpose of this venture was to operate the terminals of
Havana port, Santiago de Cuba and Punta Frances.
 The executive council of ministers gave the exclusive
concession to operate several ports and give the maritime
services for 20 years with the option of 20 years more.
(This joint venture operated Havana Port)
 In 2005 the concession was removed supposedly
because these companies were not following the Cuban
rules. The concession was then granted to a firm of the
ministry of transportation, Aries Transporte S.A.
How are ports managed in Cuba?
The organ that is in charge of ports in Cuba is the “Asociacion
Portuaria Nacional” (APN) and the decrees that rule the port
concessions are:
 Decreto-ley 230 de puertos (law of ports)
 Decreto numero 274 (regulation if ports)
 Resolucion numero 213/96 (classification of ports)

From decreto-ley 230 we know that the concessions are given to

the “executive committee of the councils of ministers”. Once the
executive committee has reviewed the documentation, which
includes the proposals, it is passed to the APN and to the
ministry of transportation which make their recommendations.
Once they have examined it the documentation is returned to
the executive committee and the concession is then either
approved or denied by them. The process can’t last more than
sixty natural days.
Considerations
Why have there only being involvement
of European firms in the concessions?
A= Because the USA embargo and what
happened in 9/11.
Mariel Port
 Mariel Port is placed at 50 km. from Havana in a Northwest
direction. This port is historical because the famous Mariel
boatlift event happened here in this port.
 Mariel lift: Fidel Castro permitted any person who wanted to
leave Cuba free access to depart from the port of Mariel. Boats
with Cuban migrants began departing Mariel, Cuba, in April,
1980 after Castro declared the port of Mariel "open." Hundreds
of small craft departed Miami and sailed to Mariel, where they
loaded up with refugees, in most cases more than the craft was
designed to carry safely, and then attempted to return to Miami.
 Although it is a port with a good location, the limited berthing
depths at Cuban ports have exacerbated the country's trade
decline as they restrict the size of vessels able to dock.
Shippers have tended to favour importing from neighbouring
Caribbean states such as Jamaica and the Dominican Republic,
which offer a more efficient port system.
Mariel Port
 Recently this port has become the major point of attention in
what comes to ports in Cuba because of a 450 million dollar
remodeling that is being done by Odebrecht.
 Odebrecht is a major Brazilian construction and engineering
company. The Brazilian company operates jointly with the
Cuban Ministry of Construction.
 The Brazilian infrastructure company is already engaged in the
building and renovation of roads, railways and the dredging of
the channel into the future terminal that according to plans will
have a movement capacity of one million containers per year.
The project will supposedly be over in 10 years from now.
 It’s important to say that the project is being fund by the
Brazilian government, apparently in its totality. It seems that
Lula is impressively committed with this port. Since there is not
much economical benefit to Brazil the analyst have said that
this is mostly to reassure Brazilian image as regional leader
(kind of a big brother).
Mariel Port
 The project is being financed through
the brazilian Banco Nacional de
Desarrollo (BNDS).
Havana port
 In 1998, Cuba’s government gave the concession for the
management, loading and unloading of the cargo to the firm
“Terminal de Contenedores de La Habana”(TCH).
 This company is formed by both, private and public capital. It’s
composed by capital from APN, the Ministry of Transportation,
Grupo Acemex and the spanish company Grupo Espanol Perez
(grupo TCB) de terminal de contenidors de Barcelona.
 TCH was inaugurated in year 2000, but has really operate since
1998.
 Since there are no public tenders considered in Cuban law,
although there is consideration for concessions, the company
was contracted through an administrative concession (process
of which we already talked about).
 Since then the results this concession has given are very good.
in 1998 it operated 93 k containers per year; in 1999, 123 k; in
2000 it closed with 180 k, and in 2001 it operated 210 mil. (very
succesful)
Havana port
TCH is rendering services to some of the most important
international shipping companies, such as CMA-CGM, Crowley
Liner Services, Costa Container Lines, ZIM, Holland Maas, as
well as the Cuban flag shipping companies.

TCH main services are:

Loading/Unloading of containers from/to ship

Delivery/reception of containers from/to truck
Stuffing / Unstuffing of containers
Connection and monitoring of reefer containers
Container storage
Delivery/reception of general cargo
Storage of general cargo
Havana port (ACEMEX)
 Grupo ACEMEX (a Gilmar Project Finance Establishment
company with dutch capital) has actively participated in
Cuba’s financial sector development. Founded in 1974 as
a group of financial companies that specialize in shipping
and financial activities, Grupo ACEMEX’s scope of
activities has gradually been expanded to meet the
growing demands of the recovering economy. Among the
services provided by Grupo ACEMEX’s financing
institutions are providing credit for prefinancing and short-
term financing, engaging in factoring and leasing
agreements, as well as managing the financial activities of
the Group’s private companies. Since its creation, “the
ACEMEX Group has arranged credits for its clients
amounting to $612.0 million, of which approximately $89.0
million were directly provided by its financing institution.”
Havana port (Grupo TCB)
 Grup TCB is Spain’s leading operator of port
terminals. Its ample
experience (dating back as far as 1972) and speciali
zation in containerized as well as in general cargo
handling certifies this leadership and its every time bigger
presence in other ports of the world-wide geography.

 Its international expansion during the last years

coincided with its strategic vision not only for the
management of terminals, but also for the provision
of know-how in the start-up and maintenance of
multipurpose facilities in general.
This activity of consultancy includes all the technical
processes, from the initial infrastructure configuration to
the final implementation of equipment as well as EDP
solutions.