SA CEI.BA

The need to gain in time and to ensure safety and security of maritime exchanges is nowadays a priority for all the port and maritime stakeholders including importers and exporters. In the Caribbean region, small islands are dependent of maritime exchanges.

The security initiatives of the American and European ports accelerated and systematized since September 11, will impose to all ports of the Caribbean for their exports and transhipment operations, the procedures permitting the anticipation of containers and contents, as well as their follow-up. Only the port communities structured around shared computerised systems will be able to answer these requirements of security and safety and will be able to maintain and reinforce their exchanges.

For all these reasons, systems which allow the "traceability" of maritime, port and customs exchanges to ensure security and productivity are needed.

CEI.BA has been the pioneer in the Caribbean region to deploy such a Cargo Community System on the Port of Jarry in Guadeloupe. Strong from this experience, CEI.BA is the project manager of CLOVIS (Caribbean Laboratory for Open and value Added Information Systems), validated by INTERREG. CLOVIS is aiming to conceive the same type of CCS in the Barbados, Dominica, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint-Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago, in order to facilitate and to secure the exchanges.

With its System AP+, SOGET from Le HAVRE, is a strong partner of CLOVIS, helping in the construction of a linked Caribbean region, serving the exchanges in the area, the productivity of the islands and the capacity to respond to various globalisation's threats and opportunities.

To allow the realisation of the project, CEI.BA is implementing steering committees in each partner island including representatives of Customs, Port authorities, Maritime companies, Warehousing agents, Forwarding agents, importers and exporters, carriers... These Committees will be able to sign Memorandum Of Understanding for the setting up of the necessary studies and audits for the platforms analysis and planning. They will receive the audit and situational analysis results, and will validate, if necessary, the technical and procedural recommendations and the solutions.

Guadeloupe and Martinique, as a part of the European Union, want to play an important role concerning exchanges and cooperation within the Caribbean Region. The APE, awaiting for signature between Europe and the Caricom, are a set of commitments and tools for the construction of markets in favour of development and cooperation.