Panama City, Panama – The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) Board of Directors and its International Advisory Board held their second and last meeting for 2002 in Miami, Florida. During the meeting, they discussed issues and developments on the Panama Canal.
International Maritime Organization (IMO) General Secretary William O’Neil, and Ricardo Martinelli, Chairman of the ACP Board of Directors and Canal Affairs Minister, headed the sessions. The meeting at Miami was a follow-up to their last meeting held on February 28th.
The International Advisory Board was briefed on the development of Canal institutional policies; the implementation of the new toll structure recently adopted by the ACP, which will come into effect on October 1st; and the progress achieved on the Canal permanent modernization program.
Moreover, the general performance of the shipping industry, specifically the status of each segment and the world economic situation was assessed during both meetings.
Meetings with the international advisory board are held twice a year – the first is held in Panama and the second is at a city of importance to the world shipping industry. The two-day meeting this month was held in Miami because of its position as a world cruise hub.
Before the said meeting, ACP Administrator Alberto Alemán Zubieta met with representatives of the cruise ship industry to analyze issues of interest for both parties.
The ACP Advisory Board is composed of prominent executives and personalities in the world shipping industry, business, and finance personalities, including William O’Neil (International Maritime Organization); Joe R. Reeder (former Chairman of the Panama Canal Commission Board of Directors); Phillip A. Embiricos (Embiricos Shipbrokers Ltd.); Gerhard Kurz (Seabulk International); Tommy Thomsen (A.P. Moller); Stephan Schmidheiny (FUNDES); Juan Somavía (International Labor Organization); Andrónico Luksic Craig (Bank of Chile); Flemming R. Jacobs (Neptune Orient Lines, Ltd.); C.C. Tung (Orient Overseas Container Line); Armando Codina (Codina Group, Inc.); Albert H. Nahmad (Wastco, Inc.); Gustavo A. Cisneros (Cisneros Organization); Salvador A. Jurado (Building Components Group, Inc.).
About the International Advisory Board
The Panama Canal International Advisory Board provides advice and counsel to the ACP on current and future trends and issues on the worldwide shipping industry.
About the Panama Canal
The Panama Canal Authority is the autonomous agency of the Government of Panama in charge of managing, operating, and maintaining the Panama Canal. The operation of the Panama Canal Authority is based on its organic law and the regulations approved by its Board of Directors. For more information, please refer to the website: www.pancanal.com.
