Launched six years ago, the project has now been reactivated in response to the need to seek alternatives to the increase in freight rates.

The goal is "to accelerate intraregional trade, by eliminating the passing through customs, as happens with land transport."

With a cabotage system, the needs of the east-central United States market could be met from the port of Lazaro Cardenas, while Panama could address the Asian market and the South American Pacific coast. According to Medardo Miguel Galindo, operations manager at the Federation of Agricultural Exporters of Honduras and member of the American Federation of Chambers and Associations of Exporters of Central America, Panama and the Dominican Republic (FECAEXCA), "this system would reduce operating costs for Central American producers . "

Source: prensalibre.com

More on this topic

Puerto Quetzal: Incentives for Intrarrregional Traffic

January 2015

Quetzal Port Company is offering a special rate with discounts up to 50% for ships carrying cargo whose origin and destination is Central America.

This project seeks to promote short sea shipping between the ports of Quetzal in Guatemala, Acajutla in El Salvador, Corinth in Nicaragua and Caldera in Costa Rica, and in this way reduce land freight traffic between countries in the region.

Short Sea Shipping in Central America

November 2013

A feasibility study indicates that the region has economic and port potential to develop a system of short sea shipping.  

After evaluating 49 ports with international traffic in the region, a feasibility study prepared by the Mesoamerica Project concluded that no large investments in access infrastructure are needed in order for ports to boost regional shipping.

Study on Regional Maritime Cargo

April 2013

The preliminary results have been released from a feasibility study on the development of a Short Sea Shipping service in Mesoamerica.

As part of this project, a feasibility study was conducted over the last 12 months, which assessed the movement of cargo from ports with international traffic in the 49 countries that make up the Mesoamerican block (Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia and the Dominican Republic).

Regional Maritime Routes Project

July 2009

Developing the region's short distance cargo and passenger sea travel could lower costs and favor agricultural exports.

Central America's short distance maritime transport project (TMCD, Spanish Acronym) is advancing. Feasibility studies have determined that with little investment, the 49 ports located in Central America and Mexico, "could be adapted for short distance passenger and cargo transportation, as it is done in Europe".