Posts in category: News

Do you remember that in 2022 we received the consultants from the company FIS (Innovative and Sustainable Future) Augusto Montoya and Carlos Marín? They returned this year with us for the trainings. Learn details about the Yellow Belt graduation from the Lean Six Sigma program (process improvement methodology) 2023

  With the view of becoming TC Mariel the best terminal in the Caribbean, with world-class quality standards, Lean and Six Sigma tools, aimed at standardizing processes and reducing variability for the continuous improvement, are a way to change our way of doing things.

  Since TC Mariel is the only container terminal in the country, the challenge has to arise from inside, where the most important thing is our people, a replicable infrastructure that allows us to make the port facility bigger; Hence the importance of training the company's staff and extending that culture of excellence to the entire company.

  Thus, on July 12th, 20 workers from different areas were certified in Yellow Belt.

  After a theoretical approach, the trainees, guided by the process executors, delved into the development of projects to which the tools learned were applied for future improvement proposals in 2023.

  Once this first stage is completed, a second cycle of training begins to obtain the Green Belt category. On this occasion, some works will be carried out that must be presented next November to the company management.

  To achieve the Green Belt category, projects must achieve savings of at least 100 thousand dollars.
We know that you are also the protagonist of the changes.

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New access channel will allow the terminal´s handling Neo Panamax vessels

15 March, 2023, Mariel, Cuba – Mariel Container Terminal (TCM) today announced that the dredging of the channel to accommodate Neo Panamax vessels has been completed and buoys have been relocated as per new channel dimensions allowing the terminal to receive Neo Panamax vessels up to 366-metre LOA, 52-metre Beam, and 15-metre draft.

The port of Mariel is ideally positioned in the Caribbean region. It is located 45 km from the capital of Cuba in a protected deep-water bay. It is in the middle of the Mariel Special Development Zone (ZEDM), a project that promotes the sustainable economic development of Cuba, through the attraction of foreign investment, technological innovation and industrial concentration, while guaranteeing the protection of the environment.

“Thanks to our infrastructure, our privileged geographic location on the North-South and East-West routes, a reliable workforce and high levels of security, TCM is well positioned to continue growing The deepening of the access channel marks another milestone for the port and will add to the strengths of TCM. ”

About TCM

TCM is the main container terminal in Cuba with a yearly container throughput of approximately 300,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU).

With natural deep-water, and the capability to handle the largest vessels visiting Caribbean region, TCM’s commitment to service reflects a young and professional management team. Building networked coastal and inland rail solutions, TCM offers global carriers and logistics providers a reliable route to market and unrivalled location in the middle of the Caribbean region.

With the following installed infrastructure and equipment:

– 702 meters of berth length with 17.5 meters depth.

– 4 Super Post-Panamax quay cranes (STS).

– Container yard area of 27.7 hectares with a capacity for 800 000 TEUs/year.

– 12 rubber tired gantry cranes in the container yard and

– 2 rail Mounted gantry cranes at the rail terminal

Visit us at www.tcmariel.cu or follow us on LinkedIn.

The creation of the group of amateur artists from TC Mariel was one of the achievements we had in 2022, it was also a year marked by the impulse and growth; spirit with which we receive the ninth anniversary of the Container Terminal.

In January we were awarded with the 65th anniversary stamp of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, awarded by the company Almacenes Universales.

Later on, and thanks to the restoration of the railway lines that connect the Terminal with the Santa Cruz Rum Factory, we received the first formation of 28 tankers of Havana Club rum, destined for export and the Cuban foreign trade.

The railway yard witnessed the awarding of the Labor Prowess flag, the highest distinction conferred by the Central de Trabajadores de Cuba to productive centers and labor collectives whose actions stand out in the country.

Likewise, in the same year the scanner was inaugurated in its new premise and we received the commemorative stamp for the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Central de Trabajadores de Cuba.

Together with the company’s nine years of operations, we celebrated the 29th anniversary of the Almacenes Universales Company, which shares our achievements.

In 2022, 55 properties were delivered, benefiting 64 TC MARIEL workers.

In the same way, we have strengthened the link between the company and the university through different student visits carried out during the period, which are intended to complete the professional training of the students, as well as to achieve their correct familiarization with center.

We received food donations in our port with the mission of reducing the extensive damages caused by the Hurricane Ian in the western of Cuba, as well as strengthening the deficiencies presented in our electro-energy system.

TC Mariel is an example of brotherhood between two nations, two cultures, two different lifestyles, but with the same root that unites them: America, a continent full of warriors, brave, enterprising men who fight tooth and nail for a better tomorrow of light.

On the morning of January 19^th, the first woman was certified at Mariel Container Terminal to operate a special container forklift and also the RMG cranes.

As soon as Yaquelín Cruz Arozarena showed her interest of being training as an equipment operator, the Company’s Training Center organized a training plan for her, which she began to comply with during her days off.

When Jaquelin’s skill, discipline, commitment and willingness to work brought to light, she was immediately released from her duties as a Video Surveillance Systems Technician just to dedicate herself entirely to the RMG crane training in the railway yard.

Less than a month, the young woman, an intensive care nurse by profession, acquired the necessary skills to operate the equipment safely.

  Yaquelín Cruz Arozarena completed satisfactorily her study and training program and today, she breaks the barriers and becomes the first forty-ton cranes female operator, that’s why she is the pride of our Terminal.

 The certification was carried out through a training in the process of loading and unloading forty and twenty-foot containers, from the railway trailer to the prime mover and vice versa.

The practical exam for compliance with the dynamics carried out was a sample of precision and mastery of the technical parameters of the equipment for the safe work.

Her dedication and the overwhelming desire of growing were essential for her success. The operations group welcomed her promptly and they also supported her training, taking her as a team-mate, says her instructor Arnaldo Yuniel Herrera Montejo, who is proud for being with her during all her apprenticeship.

“The RMG crane is my first step in the operations yard, since I have a clear intention of operating the RTG and STS Quay Cranes”, were the words of Yaquelín, who is an example for all the women who imagined that heavy equipment were only men’s work.

Stories like this are usually told from each profession or job. The important thing is to make them ours on a day-to-day basis, to touch them with the hand; because women like Yaquelín do not understand the phrases   IMPOSSIBLE DREAM/ IMPOSSIBLE TASK.

Mariel Container Terminal, authorized economic operator of the Special Development Zone (ZED) and a key entity in the country’s logistics chain, was part of the Cuban companies visited by the participants of the Latin American Congress of Students and Industrial Engineers “CLEIN” 2022, in this edition Cuba was the host country from October 23^th to 28 ^th.

As part of the tour of the participants to the CLEIN, in the morning hours of Friday 28 ^th, the congressmen were received at TC Mariel, accompanied by Wendy Miranda Borroto, director of the Ventanilla Única of ZED, to known about the characteristics and operation of the company, the link between the shipping-port industry with logistics and infrastructure operators of the Zone and its projections towards the future.

After being received in the meeting room of the Terminal by specialists from the company’s Commercial Department together with the Director of Operations, Federico Carlos, and the senior specialist in Human Resources of the entity, Daniel Felipe Guerra, a favorable and fruitful dialogue took place on business management issues related to the human capital, digital transformation and sustainable development, pillars in the current XXX edition of the Latin American Congress.

With a view to a changing scenario that makes possible the opening of the country to the foreign trade, in this occasion, the projections and preparation of the Terminal stood out in the exchange, both from the infrastructural point of view and as well as from its  staff to reach higher levels of operated volumes.

After the round of questions from the participants, we went on a tour around our facilities in which the display of the cranes in the operations yard together with all the port equipment used in the company was of a great interest.

Under the slogan ”Engineering for an intelligent and sustainable management”, the Latin American Congress of Students and Industrial Engineers ¨CLEIN¨ 2022 is a great opportunity to strengthen ties of friendship by socializing and generating new and current knowledge, as well as to promote from within the links between companies and universities, essential symbiosis to modify the processes of the industry and to achieve realities of notable impact.

The fifth edition of the Port Stevedores course, which concluded on August 15th, has been characterized by the motivation of the 9 that took part of it, and also by their clear desire of learning and the signs of commitment on their way of being qualified as future workers from Mariel Container Terminal.

What have been the particularities of the course?

Talking about Sergio Orestes Salgado Díaz, who has been worked at   the Terminal as a Foreman for 7 years, “based on the recommended program promoted by the company’s Human Resources department, a better recruitment of personnel has been achieved, dynamic which, in my opinion, is positive because the workers themselves propose their relatives and also their acquaintances, people that are committed to their actions, with interest, who seek economic stability and a future”.

“The position of the stevedores is not permanent, but transitory; because over a period of time with training and effort they will be come in our future cadres, middle managers and operators, therefore I consider that the selection of the future TC Mariel workers is essential for the advancement of the business”, says our instructor.

Sergio Orestes, who after his retirement has joined us once again as an instructor of the Training Center, he feels “blessed” for teaching and training the new generations of port stevedores, and confesses that, in search of greater results in educational quality, He has ideas to project new learning tools, with a view of increasing the motivation among the students and gaining more commitment among all.

Thus, the fifth edition of the Port Stevedores course, with 80 hours of theoretical learning and 90 hours dedicated to the internships, can be defined as a positive training experience, in which, according to their instructor, the 9 students are already fit to perform their duties.

If we refer to Aliuska, many people would not know whom we are talking about? ; but if we say the c of the Security and Protection, we would all know immediately who we are talking about.

And it is true that Aliuska Otaño Semino is the first woman appointed as a Shift Head in the Security and Protection Department, a promotion granted due to her knowledge acquired in the area over the years, her experience and sense of responsibility in all the tasks assumed and also carry out.

“I like stability, work is part of my life, of my family…, TC Mariel has given me knowledge and work and economic balance”. These are her words, she arrived at the Terminal in 2012, when the port maritime enclave was a project still under construction.

Graduated as a Public Order Agent and specialized in video surveillance, first Aliuska worked at the Zapata y C command post (Plaza Municipality, Havana).

From there, she headed towards an economic location that was emerging in the western side of Cuba, whose inauguration was in 2014, she remembers that moment with pleasure, as she witnessed that moment.

The beginning of a long road of personal improvement

“I came to TC Mariel as a Video Surveillance System Agent, then I took a course in x-rays, scanners, and closer in time, on March 23^th, 2022, I was given the task of assuming the position of Shift Head of Security and Protection”, a position that our interviewee assumes with total naturalness.

Her small stature and her simplicity have not been an obstacle to lead  a group of men and women who face the fulfillment of their tasks every day because, according to Aliuska, the secret to success lies in putting oneself in the place of another, not only demanding from subordinates, but also caring about their problems and touching them closely.

Regarding the greater duty that she undertakes, she affirms: “I feel very proud because I have been the first female shift manager. I think I’m doing well, because I have had the recognition of my subordinates and my bosses, whose support has been decisive in my work”.

A woman with a big heart

Aliuska is not afraid of challenges, on the contrary, she considers them an impulse to rise to the occasions: “I like things well done, women are meticulous, and I try to solve problems with the things that are in my hands”.

Our highest consideration goes to this woman who treasures experiences in the TC Mariel Video Surveillance System.

With the purpose of strengthening the link between the university and the company, being part of the job training of the students and the awakening of their interest in the port sector. Specialists from Mariel Container Terminal S.A.  are carrying out a program of dissertations that favor the identification of the young, which is a well- qualified personnel with great opportunities for the future work development in the center.

 The exchange spaces become a certain communion between the teaching training and the subsequent introduction of the students in the professional world, by promoting an opening of the labor horizons of the student with potential for growth.

  In the month of May we went to the “José Antonio Echeverría” Technological University of Havana, Cujae, where the First Business Workshop was held with the students from the daytime and meeting courses of Superior Technician in Logistics.

  The first approaches to the Terminal were followed by visits to our facilities, in which the characteristics of TC Mariel were shown, its role in the logistics chain of the country, as well as the processes that are part of it.

  At the same time, the familiarization and the accompaniment are cornerstones in the academic culture of the future professionals and also the sources of consolidation of the learning acquired.

It was not until 1945, when the Charter of the United Nations was signed, that the International Women’s Day became the first international agreement that established the principle of equality between women and men.

From these years, the International Women’s Day took on a new global dimension. The growing international movement has helped make the commemoration a unifying element, strengthening the support for women’s rights and their participation in the political, social, cultural and economic spheres.

The Cuban Revolution was a clear example of the female empowerment. From January 1^st, 1959, multiple conquests for women and their social emancipation occurred. The Revolution glimpsed the need for an organization that would bring them together, that would defend their interests that would watch over their weaknesses and inequities, as well as the recognition of their human potential. That is when the Federation of Cuban Women was born.

Great Marianas exalt our history and dress it in color. But the work of conquests in terms of gender does not only include the past in Cuba. Nowadays, women reach prominence and gain ground in various sectors.

Cuba is one of the countries with the greatest presence of women in the Parliament, the same happens in other aspects of the society. During the pandemic, Cuban women have been on the front line, side by side with men, as in every task: in the family, in science, in the health care.

This vision is supported by a clear political will of the Cuban State on female empowerment and the achievement of the social achievements in favor of gender equality in the country.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz Canel Bermúdez called for Cuban women to be increasingly emancipated in the Revolution after evaluating several of the measures included in the National Plan for the Advancement of Women, approved in Presidential Decree 198 of 2021 and published in the Official Gazette of the Republic.

Today, part of the history of Mariel Container Terminal S.A. has women as the protagonist told in the first person. Currently, we have a workforce of 509 and 101 are female, who are present in all areas of our Terminal and they fulfill various tasks and responsibilities: from the task of ensuring the structural maintenance of our facilities, and also the commitments in the heart of the port operations.

Meanwhile, of the 17 cadres that we have in the company, 3 of them are represented by women. Thus, TC Mariel is another example of the transforming role of women in the development of a fairer society.

From a historical perspective, March 8^th, proclaimed the International Women’s Day, it defends opportunities and rights that have been historically reserved for men. A battle for equality and it has naturalized an ancient culture of domination and exclusion.

It is no longer just basic rights already achieved in terms of gender, but also the physical and the psychological integrity, the possibility of deciding about our body, sexual orientation and gender identity, equal pay and respect in work spaces, the distribution of other forms of domestic and care work, respectful and equitable relationships, just to mention a few.

Starting from there, feminist struggles allow us, day after day, to continue revealing gender inequalities, the domestic and sexual violence.

We live in times of establishing alliances, of explaining and adding. History has opened glorious pages of female confirmation. For those who opened the way, in addition, we have to claim what is missing. While the challenges are there, the first step is to seek for a more just world for all.

Since its beginning, once again TC Mariel reaffirms its commitment and goes for more

 The end of the 2020 is borne by the mark of Covid-19 and by its traces in all sectors of the socioeconomic life of the country. The 2021 year began and the challenge of continuing and promoting our daily work from a new normality was imposed.

Focused on making prevention our best practice to take care of ourselves and our families, the 2021 was passing by, a year that gradually resumed every purpose and goal that the Covid-19 had postponed.

In times of pandemic, our Company overcomes the difficulties and joins in the work of confronting the health and economic crisis that the Island is experiencing as a result of the current epidemiological situation and the intensified blockade.

Fraternal hands from sister nations arrived at our Terminal to offer their supportive help. During the course of the 2021 year Great moments marked TC Mariel. And in this way the months passed.

We received during the period more than 7 vessels with donations from some countries such as Venezuela, Mexico and Nicaragua. An important donation of food arrived at our port on the ship “Augusto César Sandino”.

It was a pride for the Terminal to be part of those moments and to contribute with our actions to the realization of such humanitarian work, because our group, attached to good practices and with a desire of doing things well, was the protagonist of these decisive operations that allowed the final destination of the goods very quickly.

In particular, the youth of the Terminal was the leader of many of these tasks during the year in the confrontation to the pandemic, and as part of this, the National Bureau of the UJC awarded the condition “Youth for Life” to 21 workers of our entity who stood out for their responsible action in adopting the sanitary measures and the most important thing was their contribution in giving support to the crew of the British cruise ship MS Breamar.

The fulfillment of the economic, productive and service indicators in the period and the recognized work of the workers inserted in the first line of combat against Covid-19, together with those who worked directly in the unloading donation operations of oxygen tanks and in their rapid transfer to the hospitals, and due to these important operations, TC Mariel was awarded with the Labor Prowess flag by the National Union of Civilian Defense Workers of the company “Almacenes Universales”.

By virtue of the Company’s relationship with its workers and as part of the health and safety regulations of the Terminal, We hosted an early vaccination campaign for the immunization of its workers and also other users of the Special Development Zone of Mariel. This management allowed our work team to carry promptly the complete vaccination schedule in its 3 doses, as well as to conclude the year with the booster dose.

Twenty-one homes were assigned to TC Mariel in the period, and at the beginning of June the first buildings were delivered, with the intention of promoting the stable and prolonged permanence of the workforce and in order to satisfy the housing needs of the team.

Our center gives more and in September 2021 the Talent Program reached its second edition, focused on the identification and development of collaborators with the potential to assume strategic positions in the company. This year the digital workshop “Here we don’t do things like that” was launched, in which essential topics such as Management and Leadership, as well as the fundamental steps for a successful change process, were analyzed.

In order to promote a good work environment that generates commitment and a sense of belonging, the communication team promoted the “En tu piel" Campaign during the period, which seeks to promote integration, teamwork and close communication through the change of role of the different leaders of the center.

Humanism and social corporate responsibility are interwoven in the historic Campaign to fight against the childhood cancer “Make them happy” in which, on this occasion, after the participation of the Management team in the PSA activity “Moviendonos por la caridad”, the buying of toys was possible for the child that are hospitalized at the National Institute of Oncology and Radiology in Havana. In the same way and in order to cement the fraternity, we also extent our solidadarity hand to the José Ramón Martínez hospital center, which is a pediatric hospital in the province of Artemisa destined for the isolation of infants that are suffering from Covid-19 at a time when the figures of infected reported the pandemic spikes.

During 2021, concrete steps were taken in projects that seek to improve the production processes and the automation of the Terminal.

New victories augurs 2022 for TC Mariel, a year of ambitious challenges and, surely of multiple conquests.

The Eighth Anniversary of the Terminal is approaching and, on the threshold of that event, we hope to share many goals, among them the desire of being more competent every day as an entity, to which we dedicate our maximum effort. The fulfillment of each outlined indicator, the satisfaction of the needs of our clients, the increase of the commitment and the sense of belonging of the workers based on the improvement of the climate of our workplace become bulwarks for the Container Terminal, which In 2014 was the first user of the Special Development Zone. TC Mariel will not fail in the effort of achievin each of these purposes, no matter how difficult they may seem. We turn problems into challenges and we face challenges. We will work to be better, we will not give up on that effort!