Cooper will continue to serve as a commissioner. In addition, Michael W Kearney was elected vice chairman and Robert R Barkerding, Jr as its secretary-treasurer.

Bergeron serves as Managing Director of Bergeron Resources, a diversified management, investment and consulting firm involved in oil and gas properties throughout Louisiana and Texas. Bergeron Resources also participates in real estate projects and maritime and transportation services in Louisiana and Mississippi.

“I am honored to be selected chairman of the Board of the Commissioners,” said Bergeron, who has a 50-year track record of success in the maritime, real estate and transportation industries. “My lifetime of entrepreneurial and management experience in the private sector, combined with my three years of service on this Board has prepared me well to contribute to the continued success of the Port and related industries. I accept this position with excitement and optimism and look forward to leading this great Louisiana economic generator to even greater heights in the future.”

Port President and CEO Gary LaGrange said Bergeron’s lifelong experience in the maritime sector will contribute greatly to the continued accomplishments of the Port.

The Board is made up of seven commissioners. They are unsalaried and serve five-year staggered terms. The Governor of Louisiana appoints members from a list of three nominees submitted by 19 local civic, labor, education and maritime groups. The Board reflects the three-parish jurisdiction, with four members from Orleans Parish, two from Jefferson Parish and one from St. Bernard Parish. Other Board members include Greg Rusovich, Laney J Chouest and Arnold B Baker.

Barry has twenty five years of experience in the Defence and Government sectors successfully building and leading teams to develop and win a considerable number of strategic high value competitions in professional services, commodities, engineering and logistic service support. Working with organisations such as the UK MOD, he has developed an in-depth knowledge of the defence value chain and where organisations can add value.

Recognised across the Defence domain as a thought leader, Barry has represented industry suppliers on a number of strategic bilateral steering boards including the Joint UK MOD/Industry Support Steering Group and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) where he is currently the technical advisor for supportability engineering.

Mike Prince, Managing Director of BMT Isis, comments: “We are delighted to confirm Barry’s appointment and I am confident that he will help to deliver strong growth in both existing and new market sectors. Barry has already made a significant contribution through his stewardship of the Land Systems element of the business and I look forward to similar successes in partnership with other BMT companies, while developing our non-defence business.”

With their operation, the Port of Buenaventura has become the port of call of reference for this strategic route for international trade between the two regions.

M/V Maersk Edinburgh, which moved 1,750 TEU at the Terminal de Contenedores de Buenaventura and has joined the AC2 service on a regular basis, has a capacity of 13,102 TEU, is 367m long and 48.2m wide. Its capacity is the maximum supported by the new locks on the Panama Canal, expected to enter into operation in 2016.

More vessels will soon be berthing at TCBuen, like M/V Maersk Elba, Maersk Effingham and others which will be joining this regular service, confirming the growing activity of Maersk Line in TCBuen since 2011. These so-called ‘E’ class ships far exceed the 9,640 TEU of capacity of the largest vessels operating hitherto in Buenaventura.

The arrival of such ships to the port of Buenaventura has required an intensive process of preparation, including specific training and simulations of the maneuvers required. To this end, TCBuen has worked closely with Maersk Line officers, pilots, tugboats and port authorities. With technological innovation as its key feature, and having completed its second phase of expansion, Terminal de Contenedores de Buenaventura is now optimized and ready to serve these latest generation ships.

“TCBuen offers one of the highest productivity on the Pacific coast in South America with an average of 30 movements per hour and crane,” says Miguel Ruiz, the General Manager of the TCBuen terminal. “This is a key factor for high-capacity vessels to minimize their stay in port, reducing the unit cost of transporting the container. The excellent turnaround times and reliability of this service allow us to address the logistics of the leading importers and exporters of Colombia”.

TCBuen is a leader in technological excellence, equipment and safety. It has an annual capacity of 610,000 TEUs and environmentally friendly operation, having completed the electrification project of the RTG cranes (Rubber Tyred Gantry) that has allowed a reduction in gas emissions. The terminal has a total berth length of 540 meters, 4 STS (Ship to Shore) cranes to serve the Maersk Edinburgh simultaneously and 13 RTG cranes.