A modern Chinese-built floating dry dock in Cuba, the largest and most modern in both Cuba and the entire Caribbean, has enhanced the country's capabilities to build and repair ships, thus boosting its maritime industry's competitiveness in the global market after over a year of operation.
The dock, built in China's Huarun Dadong shipyards and financed by a multimillion-dollar credit from the Chinese government, started operation in the Havana Harbor in 2023. This 220-meter-long and 48-meter-wide dock can accommodate cargo ships up to 65,000 displacement tons.
Johannes Milian, manager of Cuba's state-owned Caribbean Drydock Company, which operates the dock, said it has helped enhancing shipyard operations in the Havana Harbor.
"Since the dock started operations back in 2023, we have repaired eight ships, including the recovery of boats of our local fleet, which had a positive impact on the country's economy," Milian said.
The Cuban company employs around 500 skilled workers who undertake a variety of boat repairs.
"We do boat hull maintenance, electrical or mechanical work, crane repairs and steel treatment, any kind of work either in the inside or the outside of the ship," said Alvaro Barroso, the company's repair chief.
Both Barroso and Milian said the dock has not only expanded the company's capabilities and improved employee skills but has also granted the maritime industry in Cuba a competitive edge in the international market, with a growing number of foreign clients seeking repairs.
"Our prospects with this dry dock target the foreign market so we can collect hard currency to purchase the materials and resources we need to recover and upgrade our naval operations," Milian said.
Chinese-built floating dry dock enhances Cuba's maritime industry competitiveness
U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday he will extend the two-week ceasefire with Iran that was set to expire on Wednesday night (midnight GMT Tuesday).
"Based on the fact that the Government of Iran is seriously fractured, not unexpectedly so and, upon the request of Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, of Pakistan, we have been asked to hold our Attack on the Country of Iran until such time as their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The U.S. president said he will "extend the ceasefire until such time as their proposal is submitted, and discussions are concluded, one way or the other."
The U.S. military will continue the blockade against Iran and "remain ready and able," according to Trump.
Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said in a post on X Tuesday that the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports is "an act of war and thus a violation of the ceasefire" and attacking Iranian merchant ships and detaining their crew members were even more serious violations.
"Iran knows how to neutralize restrictions, how to defend its interests, and how to resist bullying," Araghchi wrote in his post.
Mehdi Mohammadi, an advisor to Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, also said the U.S. blockade must be met with a military response, dismissing Trump's ceasefire extension announcement as "meaningless".
"Extending the ceasefire by Trump has no meaning. The losing side cannot dictate terms. Continuing the blockade is no different from bombing and must be met with a military response. Moreover, any extension of the ceasefire by Trump is certainly a way to buy time for a surprise attack. Now is the time for Iran to take the initiative," Mohammadi posted on X.
Trump extends ceasefire; Iran vows military response to naval blockade
