Cuba Digs Deeper Ports

Cuba Digs Deeper Ports
Doreen Hemlock | Havana Bureau-South Florida Sun-Sentinel
July 9, 2008

HAVANA - Cuba is deepening its main seaports to handle larger and
heavier ships and trim its costs for shipping.

Dredging is underway in Havana, Santiago and Cienfuegos ports, which
together receive about 85 percent of cargo imports, National Port
Authority officials told the weekly business newspaper Opciones.

When projects are finished next year, the three ports should average
depths of 11.5 meters, or 37.7 feet. That will allow ships now calling
to carry bigger loads and let larger ships enter, cutting transport
costs by at least $50 million a year from today's less efficient service
by smaller and lighter vessels, Opciones reported.

The newspaper did not disclose the price tag for dredging, which
includes at least one contract with a Dutch firm.

The projects come as cargo centers worldwide vie to accommodate a new
generation of mega-ships. The Panama Canal is investing more than $5
billion to expand facilities to handle the giant vessels. Broward
County's Port Everglades is seeking approval for a $400 million project
to dredge its channel from 45 feet to 49 feet.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/cuba/sfl-0709,0,7241031.story