A small cargo ship sailed into Havana Bay yesterday with the first maritime shipment from Miami to Cuba in 50 years. The Ana Cecilia carried just one container filled with food and other items, but it was the beginning of what shipper International Port Corp hopes will be a weekly service linking the United States and Cuba, longtime ideological foes.
There are other shipping services between the two countries, but none linking Miami, centre of the Cuban exile community in the US and opposition to Cuba’s communist government, to Havana. “It’s one of the best things that has happened. We have to start to do things like this now and we have to start to create bridges like this,” said Leonardo Sanchez, spokesman for International Port Corp.
The company was granted a licence by the US government, which has imposed a trade embargo against Cuba since 1962. President Barack Obama has eased the embargo in a few ways, such as allowing Cuban Americans to travel freely and send unlimited remittances to Cuba. – (Reuters)