The performance of 15 container terminals and multi-purpose port facilities were reviewed and compared by the Caribbean Shipping Association’s Port Award Committee in session in Panama on Sunday October 6, prior to the start of the 43rd Annual General Meeting, Conference an Exhibition. Guadeloupe previously won the top prize for multi-purpose terminals, in 2008. For several years now, Guadeloupe Port Caraïbes has engaged in a strategy which today is bearing fruit. In surpassing the 2011 results, 2012 has been characterized by a significant improvement in all indicators. First and foremost, there has been a dramatic rise in traffic volumes :- with cargo traffic attaining 3.8MT; Guadeloupe Port Caraïbes thereby confirms an ongoing trend and sets an all-time record 2012. Container traffic in 2012 with 211 871 teu has shown a 28,5% increase compared to 2011, a performance explained by the growth of transhipment traffic volume(+143.68% compared to 2011) - Passenger traffic in 2012 has shown a 12% increase compared to 2011, a performance explained by the growth : - in inter-island(international) passages-123 219 passengers-(+14%)- in archipelago traffic with 618 690 passengers (+4%)- in cruise liner traffic with 158 288 passengers(+52%). Then there are the effort to maintain a robust state of financial health (a record sales turnover of 45 MUSD leading to a profit of 4 MUSD), enabling the port to pursue her development strategy. The ISO 14001 certification was granted in January 2013, which sees all our port-related activities rewarded for the improvement of performance through the control of environmental impacts. The national Audit Office for the period 2006-2011 reviewing the port policy, the strategic planning, the organization and industrial relations dialogue encourages the port management to continue along the same lines. Nearly 19 MUSD have been invested at all port facilities in 2012, with : - an operation to upgrade the container terminal, - the launch of a geotechnical survey and the completion of the studies regarding the extension of the container terminal, - the modernization of the cruise terminal, - the beautification of the waterfront and the city/port interface in the cities of Basse-Terre & Pointe-à-Pitre, - the extension of the inter-island passengers terminal, - the creation of a logistical activity zone at the port of Folle-Anse on the island of Marie-Galante. Now more than ever, the Guadeloupe Port Caraïbes seeks to be recognized as the European benchmark multi-purposed port in the Caribbean. Know-how, competitiveness, reliability, security, modernity are the assets, serving the aims of an ambitious, multisectoral strategy. Driven by this momentum, the port has embarked on the 2013-2017 strategic development plans, in order to consolidate that position.