From left, handler Neil Williams, instructor Collin Roper, and handlers Marlon Lee and Anthony Taylor show off their certificates in search techniques received from the Caribbean Regional Drug Law Enforcement Training Centre, Twickenham Park, St Catherine. The four were part of a group of instructors and handlers from the Canine Division of the Shipping Association of Jamaica that participated in the two-day course which is a United Nations Initiative - Office on Drug and Crime. - Contributed

Increased demands for ship building, especially mega-ships by Asian heavyweights, have driven up the cost to build ships and containers, said Corah Ann Robertson-Sylvester , chief executive officer of Seaboard Jamaica.

These mega-ships, she said, are inappropriate for Caribbean trade lanes which require smaller feeder vessels. "Commercial ship building is undergoing a boom, driven primarily by worldwide increases in trade. In 2005, orders were received by shipyards for approximately US$100 billion worth of vessels. By 2007, the value of orders on the books had virtually tripled. As a result, it is anticipated that in excess of 5,000 new ships will be launched by early 2010," Robertson-Sylvester pointed out.

She was speaking at the Shipping Association of Jamaica-sponsored (SAJ) Lunch and Learn seminar held at the Pelican in Montego Bay, St James.

Affecting factors

Another factor affecting Caribbean trade lanes, she noted, was the demand for feeder vessels to work China's coast, making them unavailable for Caribbean trade lanes. "This is spiking demand and tightening supply, resulting in high charter costs which will invariably increase shipping costs," the Seaboard Jamaica head said.