Polaris CEO Randy Rochester Attends CSA
Randy Rochester, CEO of Polaris Holding Company Ltd, recently attended the 54th Annual General Meeting, Conference and Exhibition of the Caribbean Shipping Association [CSA].
A spokesperson said, “The Chief Executive Officer of Polaris Holding Company Ltd, Mr. Randy Rochester, recently attended the 54th Annual General Meeting, Conference and Exhibition of the Caribbean Shipping Association [CSA] held at the JW Marriott Hotel in St. Maarten [October 5th to 8th] which was attended by over 350 senior executives from across the region – the US and as far away as Scotland.
“Established in 1971, the CSA emerged from the need for having a central voice for the region’s shipping industry. The mechanization of ports across the region hastened the need for representation and the formation of the Association that would become crucial to the development and exchange of ideas and practices integral to the growth of Caribbean shipping. This exchange also includes data collection which ports are requested to submit on an annual basis that assesses the efficiency of each port across the region – from the productivity [container moves per hour], truck turn-times within the terminal, industrial relations [time lost due to strikes], safety [number of accidents], to training inter alia.
“Closing out the second day of the conference, the CSA announced the winners of the Ludlow Stewart Container Port Competition 2024, awarded to the port with the most improvement, with Point Lisas and Manzanillo International Terminal [MIT] making history by tying for first place – with St. Vincent named the runner-up, and Haina International Terminals securing third place.
“Although Stevedoring Services Bermuda Ltd, were not among the winners, special recognition was given for its outstanding performance. The CSA reported that SSL maintained a high level of efficiency with no strikes or accidents over the last two years, zero-time lost waiting for a berth, a consistent productivity rate of 36 container moves per hour, and an impressive truck turn-time of just 14 minutes. SSL did not rank higher because its already high performance left little room for further improvement.
“Mr. Rochester attributed this success to the hard-working team at the Hamilton Port, the ongoing training of the SSL employees, the good working relationship with the Bermuda Industrial Union, and an extremely supportive Board of Directors as just some of the factors.”
