KINGSTON Wharves Limited (KWL) has set its sights on dominating Latin America and the Caribbean as the region’s largest vehicle trans-shipment hub, unveiling an audacious plan to triple annual capacity to 500,000 cars by 2030 — a vision bolstered by the arrival of the groundbreaking Höegh Aurora, the world’s largest eco-friendly car carrier, at its newly expanded Berth 7.

The port operator, already handling over 170,000 vehicles annually, is leveraging a US$100-million infrastructure overhaul — plus a planned US$15-million multi-level car park and cutting-edge berth upgrades — to position itself as the linchpin of global auto logistics, capitalising on strategic shipping lanes connecting Asia, the Americas, and Oceania while promising transformative job growth for Jamaica’s economy.

Mark Williams, chief executive officer of Kingston Wharves Limited, outlined the vision in an interview with Jamaica Observer.

“So far we move just over 170,000 [vehicles annually]…and we believe, based on the investment that we’ve made and some strategic plans that we have, [that] it’s reasonable for Kingston Wharves to establish itself as one of the premier global auto logistics centre, and for that, our vision is that we can move half a million cars per year through Kingston,” Williams said.

He said that will push Kingston Wharves’ hub from being one of the largest trans-shipment ports for vehicles in the Caribbean to being the largest in the broader Latin America and Caribbean region, challenging vehicle trans-shipment hubs in much larger countries.

Kingston Wharves moves vehicles to as far away as Australia and New Zealand and has established global connectivity with large shipping lines that uses Jamaica’s location as a trans-shipment hub.

Williams acknowledged that realising his dream will “take a bit of negotiation with lines and infrastructure development” but said with the investments being made now, “We are very optimistic that this can happen.”

Just this past Sunday, the Höegh Aurora, one of the world’s largest pure car and truck carriers (PCTC) with a capacity of 9,100 car equivalent units (CEUs), made its first Caribbean voyage, docking at Kingston Wharves’ newly constructed Berth 7.

The company, which has partnered with Kingston Wharves for 15 years, establishing the port as its regional motor vehicle transshipment hub, has already put the port operator on notice, indicating that it will need more space in Jamaica to store cars earmarked for shipping to other countries. Williams said that notice has reinforced the prudence of its plan to continue building out the infrastructure to support its ambition.

“We had approved US$15 million to build a multi-level car park, so we’re moving ahead. Hopefully, we’ll be breaking ground very soon, because this has been on the drawing board for a while,” he told Business Observer.

He added that the delay in getting the project off the ground has been due to the length of time it took to wrap up negotiations with global contractors.

“There are other investments that we require, so, for example, we’ve done Berth7 recently, and it was so good that the vessel that came up on Sunday actually berthed at Berth 7 because the main berth for car carriers, which would be, in our case, Berth 5, could not accommodate a vessel that large. So what this means is that we would have to do further in terms of other berths as we’ve done for 7, 8, and 9. It would require having other equipment to handle the motor units because we do have what we call high and heavy or static pieces, where you literally need other equipment to take on the static pieces, and equally important is to have the right technology to use to track and monitor the movement of half a million cars.”

He said developing Kingston Wharves as a trans-shipment hub is necessary for the continued growth of the company, because Jamaica with its population of just under 3 million people would not provide all the growth needed for shareholders.

And though he acknowledged that there is still some work to do to achieve the dream of being the biggest car trans-shipment hub in Latin America and the Caribbean, he has set himself a timeline to getting it done.

“Certainly, I think [we can do it] in five years. It took us 15 years to get to 170,000 [and] I think having gotten to where we are, having the infrastructure in place, more plans to invest in our business, I think in another five years, by 2030, we should be hitting that mark of 500,000 for cars per year.”

“We are the most called terminal car carrier for Höegh Autoline, certainly in the English-speaking Caribbean, where we are ahead of everybody, but there are others in Latin America that are doing more than us right now. We are still in the top 10 in Latin America, but if you were to look at [the] Caribbean by itself, we are way ahead of everybody. We want to be number one in Latin America and the Caribbean so half a million will make you number one make us number one.”

He pointed out that the benefits will also redound to jobs being created in logistics, mechanics, and port operations.

“I’m just excited, you know, as I said, this is more than for Kingston Wharves, because when you have a vessel that has a capacity of 9,100 cars, you just think of a number of jobs for people to drive the cars, for people to supervise, for mechanics, etc, so the knock-on effect for a country like Jamaica is just tremendous and prominent opportunities.”

Höegh Autoliners of Norway first entered into a trans-shipment deal with Kingston Wharves in 2009 to re-export cars across the world. Currently, the port serves around 40 countries.

The vessel that docked in Jamaica on Sunday carries twice the number of cars than the other vessels that use the island. The Höegh Aurora represents a leap forward in sustainable shipping, aligning with Höegh Autoliners’ goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2040. The vessel is pioneering the use of ammonia as a zero-carbon maritime fuel, setting new standards for green shipping. Kingston Wharves is a multi-purpose port terminal and provider of logistics services.

WILLIAMS…our vision is that we can move 500,000 cars per year through Kingston