KFTL – kftl

Kingston Freeport Terminal Limited (KFTL) has implemented changes to its gate process, effective March 18, 2019. The changes are part of the company’s ongoing efforts to enhance its systems and processes to provide better service to its customers.

The new gate process will help to:
• Improve traffic management and reduce the truck turn-around time
• Increase the security of information as well as cargo control through the installation of Gate Booths, which will help prevent trucks without the correct information from entering or leaving our facilities
• Enhance customer focus by reducing manual administrative processes and avoid trucks parking in the entrance creating congestion
• Increase the level of safety for users by reducing the concentration of pedestrians and ensuring a more controlled area
• Reduce the parking during the Gate In process
• Set the foundation for improvements in our technological systems including eventual introduction of automated gate process and optimal container recognition (OCR)

Stakeholders who wish to contact KFTL with any questions or concerns about the changes may email contactus@kftl-jm.com.

Kingston Freeport Terminal Limited (KFTL), started off 2019 on a high note when it recorded its best performance ever, in the history of the Port of Kingston.

A total of 3304 moves were handled within 24 hours of operation on the Post-Panamax vessel, Cosco Beijing, which arrived at the terminal on January 24. This included 1464 containers being unloaded and another 1840 containers loaded back onto the vessel.

KFTL achieved an average crane productivity of 36 moves per hour and average berth performance of 136 moves per hour with only four (4) gantry cranes working on the mainliner. With this top performance on the Cosco Beijing, which has a capacity of 9,383 TEUS, KFTL is showing present and future clients that it is ready more than ever to accommodate increased volumes.

KFTL, a subsidiary of the third largest shipping company worldwide, French-based CMA CGM, assumed responsibility for the management and development of the Kingston Container Terminal in July 2016, under a 30 year Concession Agreement with the Government of Jamaica.

KFTL facilitates the import and export of goods to and from Jamaica and also serves as a transshipment hub that connects a network of international shipping routes.

Simon Farhat, chief operating officer at KFTL noted that especially for the transhipment market, fast and efficient performance is the key success factor. “The challenge is to maintain these levels so that more business can come to Jamaica,” he noted. “All of us at KFTL are aiming to keep this level of performance and are looking forward to continued growth and success,” Farhat shared.

As millions across the globe observed World Earth Day on April 22nd under the theme “End Plastic Pollution,” Kingston Freeport Terminal Limited (KFTL) is reporting the removal of 8,299 bags of garbage, comprising mainly plastics, from the Refuge Cay mangroves in Kingston. This effort was the first phase of a cleanup and rehabilitation project sponsored by KFTL and executed by the University of the West Indies (UWI) Centre for Marine Sciences and the Port Royal Marine Laboratory. The cleaning started on January 8th 2018 and lasted 6 weeks.

In addition to the bags of garbage, other items cleared included 30 refrigerators, 13 cooking gas cylinders, five washing machines and over 50 tyres. Miscellaneous items such as car bumpers, crates, buckets, a scuba tank, nets, fishing lines and other small appliances were also removed.

The second phase of the project, the installation of barriers to prevent further garbage buildup on the Cay, was completed on March 23rd 2018. The third phase, which involves fisher folk removing garbage built up in the barriers on a monthly basis, commenced in April 2018; while the fourth phase, the replanting of mangrove saplings, is slated to begin in May 2018.

Following on these gains, KFTL has also commenced initiatives at its facility to help end plastic pollution. These include removing single-use plastic straws from its canteen and embarking on a recycling campaign, which will encourage staff to separate various waste streams, including plastic. Moreover, plans have been initiated to replace the company’s supply of styrofoam containers with bio-degradable alternatives.

Locally, the Recycling Partners of Jamaica reported that between March 2014 and March 2017, it recovered over 3.3 million pounds of plastics – or over 100 million bottles – from the environment in Jamaica. Meanwhile, according to the Earth Day Network, the organization that leads Earth Day observations worldwide, over 300 million tons of plastic are sold globally each year, 90% of which is thrown away.

The Kingston Freeport Terminal Limited (KFTL), operator of the Kingston Container Terminal, has completed renovations on the first section of its South Berth and is ready to restart operations in that area.
The renovations, which include the reinforcement of over 1200 metres of the South Terminal, form part of the civil works aimed at upgrading the Terminal and are amongst several investment commitments KFTL made upon assuming responsibility of managing the facilities in July 2016.
The first 600 metres were completed under Section One (1) and the remaining 600 metres of the South Berth will be reconstructed under two additional sections and are expected to be completed by the end of 2018, all at a cost of approximately US $150 million.
Combined with the arrival of new gantry cranes and new cargo handling equipment, KFTL is increasing its capacity and ability to perform at the next level. With these improvements, KFTL will be able to facilitate larger vessels, which will translate to increased transshipment business for Jamaica.
“KFTL staff are excited about the additional capacity and stand ready to turn this opportunity into a success for the Kingston Hub,” noted new CEO, Johannes de Jong. He added that “these improvements could not have taken place without the support of the Port Authority of Jamaica and other stakeholders.”
The civil works is being executed by a consortium which includes Vinci Construction Grands Projects, EMCC and Sodraco and managed by Egis Ports Consultants on behalf of KFTL.
In addition to the completion of Section One (1) of the civil works upgrades, KFTL also completed upgrading of the nautical access in August 2017 after months of dredging to deepen the shipping channel. The achievement of these significant milestones now enables the Port of Kingston to accommodate, on the newly refurbished section, the new Panamax container vessels of up to 14,000 TEUs, which can now pass through the region following the recent expansion of the Panama Canal.

In February, over 60 students and teachers from two schools in the corporate area received an opportunity to learn about the importance of the biodiversity within the Kingston Harbour through a tour and field lecture at Refuge Cay and the University of the West Indies (UWI) Port Royal Marine Lab. The activity, which was sponsored by the Kingston Freeport Terminal Limited (KFTL) was carried out in partnership with UWI’s Centre for Marine Sciences.
The educational activity, which was held on February 2, in observance of World Wetlands Day 2018, under the theme, “Wetlands for a sustainable urban future,” also served to highlight some of the work being done to preserve wetlands in the Kingston Harbour. This includes the ‘Restoration and Cleanup of Refuge Cay Mangroves’ project, which is also being sponsored by KFTL and implemented in collaboration with UWI’s Port Royal Marine Lab and involves clean-up and re-planting activities at Refuge Cay.
Eleven year old, Zion Dowie, from Port Royal Primary school was elated to participate in the Refuge Cay tour. “It was an amazing experience to learn about the mangroves and I love how the workers are helping to get it cleaned. I want to encourage people to stop throwing garbage into the sea and into gullies and to throw them in garbage bags instead,” pleaded Dowie.

Moyen Campbell, Guidance Counsellor at the Harbour View Primary school and who was one of the teachers who accompanied the students, noted that “they were very receptive of the information and we will ensure they share with others at their school, the lessons learned about the importance of keeping their surroundings clean.”

The World Wetlands Day tour for students and the ‘Refuge Cay Mangroves Restoration and Cleanup’ project, are among several community outreach activities which KFTL sponsors as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility. KFTL has also sponsored another project which will benefit the Kingston Harbour – the ‘Port Royal Cays Coral Reef Rehabilitation,’ which will be implemented over a five year period and will feature the design, installation and monitoring of artificial reef structures on the Port Royal Barrier Reef.

CMA CGM subsidiary in Jamaica, the Kingston Freeport Terminal Limited (KFTL) has once again displayed its environmental stewardship by sponsoring two projects that will improve the fisheries resource of the Kingston Harbour. The projects, the ‘Refuge Cay Mangrove Cleanup and Restoration’ and the ‘Port Royal Cays Coral Reef Rehabilitation,’ are being implemented in partnership with the University of the West Indies (UWI) Centre for Marine Sciences and the Port Royal Marine Laboratory.

Over 4,200 bags of garbage were collected over four weeks as part of the ‘Refuge Cay Mangrove Restoration’ project, since the cleaning began on January 8, 2018. Following the removal of the heavy build-up of solid waste from Refuge Cay, mangrove seedlings will be planted and garbage barriers installed to prevent further garbage build up. Any further garbage that gathers in the barriers will also be regularly removed and disposed.

In Jamaica, the Refuge Cay is home to numerous species of birds and also serves as a nursery area and feeding ground for a variety of fish species. Over the years, a large quantity of garbage accumulated on the cay which limited the flushing of sea water through the mangroves. Consequently, the cay became hypersaline causing a “dead zone” to develop at its centre. Since the cay has never been cleaned, this project is of major significance and is intended to be a catalyst for similar initiatives.

According to Professor of Marine Biology, Mona Webber, PhD., who is also Director at the Centre for Marine Sciences at UWI, “mangroves are natural filters cleaning our waters, they remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere (helping to mitigate climate change) and they support birds and other wild life. It is therefore a tremendous partnership between KFTL, UWI and the men and women of Port Royal and Kingston Harbour who are trying to save an area on which we all depend.”

KFTL and UWI have also partnered on another project, the Port Royal Cays Coral Reef Rehabilitation, which will be implemented over a five year period and will feature the design, installation and monitoring of artificial reef structures on the Port Royal Barrier Reef. Preliminary diving visits have already been conducted.

According to Chanelle Fingal Robinson, PhD., Social Impact Specialist at KFTL, “both projects will not only benefit the environment but also financially benefit the Kingston Harbour fisherfolk through potentially creating alternative livelihoods such as ecotourism.” For the Refuge Cay project, for instance, over 20 persons from the Port Royal community, most of whom are fisherfolk, have been contracted to clean the area.

These two initiatives form part of KFTL’s wider Corporate Social Responsibility efforts and are aimed at enhancing the quality of the Kingston Harbour, which is the 7^th largest natural harbour in the world.

The Kingston Freeport Terminal Limited (KFTL) is urging importers to immediately take delivery of their containers which have been on the port for extended periods of time.

There are currently 1,250 containers (2000 TEUs) waiting to be collected, with 31% having been on the terminal for up to a week, 38% for up to 14 days, and the remaining 31% for more than two weeks and up to three months. This has resulted in reduced efficiency of the loading equipment due to rehandling and increased waiting time for trucks taking delivery.

The Jamaica Customs Agency has also advised that a number of these containers have already been duty paid and custom cleared and are only awaiting collection. As such, KFTL is asking the relevant companies to contact its Gate Operations unit in the soonest possible time to make arrangements for collection.

KFTL also wishes to remind importers/exporters to schedule and honour appointments made for delivery, as over the past 3-4 weeks, there has been a decrease in the number of appointments made and honoured. Currently, there is an average of 30% of units shifted per day which are not being collected and are accumulating in the domestic area, which has also impeded service delivery.

KFTL remains committed to ensuring that its volumes and productivity levels continue to improve and seeks the continued cooperation of all relevant stakeholders in facilitating this.

The Kingston Freeport Terminal Limited (KFTL) has completed the capital dredging of the shipping channel within the Kingston Harbour. The dredging, which was scheduled to be completed in 9 months, was completed 1.5 months ahead of schedule and fulfilled all conditions outlined in its Environmental Permit issued by the National Environmental and Planning Agency (NEPA).

The dredging facilitated the deepening of the nautical access to allow the Port of Kingston to accommodate larger New Panamax container vessels, which will now be passing through the region following the recent expansion of the Panama Canal.

The final handover of the upgraded Nautical Access to the Port Authority will occur in the coming weeks pending the completion of verification surveys and the reinstatement of Navigational Aids.

KFTL, which is the new concessionaire for the Port of Kingston, started the dredging in January 2017 under the terms of its concessionary agreement with the Port Authority of Jamaica.

KFTL Implements New Gate Process

KFTL Records Best Performance Ever

Kingston Freeport Terminal Limited joins efforts to end plastic pollution

KFTL completes section one of upgrades; now able to host larger vessels

KFTL & UWI Partner to Educate Students about Wetlands for World Wetlands Day

KFTL Sponsors Kingston Harbour Projects

KFTL Urges Importer to Collect Containers

Dredging of Kingston Harbour Nautical Access Complete

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