Above: the Port of Martinique

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Martinique is looking to develop into a major Caribbean logistics hub with the expansion of the Panama Canal.

Martinique is currently renovating the Port of Martinique with an investment of about $95 million, aimed at accomodating the larger vessels that will be coming through the expanded Panama Canal.

A recently-formed cluster called the Groupement Antillais de Transport Caraibes Logistique & Transport, or GAT, is a group of Martinique-based transportation companies and public sector organizations seeking to encourage solutions to benefit the region’s logistics industry.

GAT Caribbean is showcasing its new “Clustergates” public-private initiative at a major shipping conference in Panama next week, a grouping of freight and passengers “that will match demand and supply and optimize the flux of increased traffic into the greater Caribbean and the Americas.”

The group says it is preparing to develop Martinique into the “Gateway to Europe in the Americas” in the post-Panamax era.

Martinique is one of several Caribbean countries eyeing an enhanced logistics position in the post-Panamax era — most notably Jamaica.

That’s not a stretch for the French department, as the Port of Martinique is one of the largest natural harbours in the region, with a draft of up to 56 feet.