Paul Hurlston has returned to the helm of the Cayman Islands Port Authority as director.
Hurlston’s appointment was announced by Minister Kenneth Bryan at a press briefing on Thursday, 7 July, although officials said he has been in the role since 27 June.
Bryan said the appointment was for a three-year period, with a focus on succession planning.
“In the role of director, Mr. Hurlston will oversee all harbour operations and the development of the authority’s multi-million-dollar budget,” said Bryan. “He will also have the responsibility to ensure the authority operates safely and efficiently. Consequently, his experience and background make him well suited for this position.”
Hurlston’s return as director comes seven years after his departure in 2015 when he left the role under circumstances which remain unclear. Neither Hurlston nor Bryan would be drawn on the reasons for his departure from the job seven years ago.
Hurlston had headed up the Port Authority since 2001, and had served as assistant director since 1992.
Transient management since 2015
Since his 2015 departure, the upper leadership structure of the Port Authority was somewhat turbulent and fluid, with three directors and two interim directors transitioning in and out of the role. There has been no permanent director in the role for the past three years. The most recent acting director was Dale Christian, who was appointed in April this year.
“My return will provide some stability to the staff and to the board, in terms of the operations of the port,” Hurlston said at the briefing. “That is one of the reasons that I am back.”
Chairman of the Port Authority Cline Glidden, who also spoke at the press conference, said that, in his first 10 days of taking up the role, Hurlston had begun the process of identifying a Human Resources manager, who will deal with a variety of staffing issues.
“For over three years, they were operating without a HR manager, so one of the first tasks that Mr. Hurlston has been given, from the board’s standpoint, is looking at organisational structure and addressing those deficiencies,” said Glidden, who noted there were nearly 170 people employed at the port.
He said Hurlston would also address safety issues at the port.
“We look forward to the board working together with the ministry and Mr. Hurlston on initiatives to improve the efficiencies, financial stability and customer service while also ensuring a safe, healthy and pleasant environment for the staff and clients of the port,” Glidden said.
New sub-committees
In addition to Hurlston being named the new port director, officials announced the creation of three sub-committees to concentrate on various port-related issues.
An audit and risk sub-committee, chaired by Jackie Scott, was established to identify safety and risk issues at the port facilities, in line with a recommendation made by the auditor general; an import sub-committee, chaired by Irma Arch, was created to address the concerns of large importers; and an enhancement sub-committee, chaired by Richard Parchment, will address the cruise passenger experience.
No cruise berth
Port and government officials stated that there are no plans to create a berthing facility at the port.
“The government’s position has been very clear from the onset, there won’t be developments in terms of a berthing facility, which has been a discussion around the port for a long period of time,” said Glidden, who previously was a staunch supporter of the development.
Instead, he said work would continue on enhancing existing facilities to make them “best in class”. He gave an example of the enhancements as putting shading areas in place for cruise passengers, and improving wait times for cargo.
He said, “There are opportunities, we feel, with the current plan to improve on the customer experience for cruise, as well as make enhancements to the facilities, with regards to cargo… not just in Cayman but… in Cayman Brac and Little Cayman.”
Bryan said no funding had been allocated yet for specific projects relating to enhancing the cruise visitor experience, and he would be awaiting feedback from the Port Authority, the enhancement sub-committee and the tourism industry to determine what work needed to be done.
This was further affirmed by Glidden who noted that there was no deadline for a specific enhancement review; instead, this would done on an ongoing basis.
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