MIAMI – Caribbean-American owned shipping company, Laparkan has made available space within its new warehouse in Miami for the establishment of a permanent Emergency Response Center which will provide storage facilities as well as serve as a staging area for the shipment of emergency supplies to countries in the Caribbean region in the event of natural disasters such as hurricanes, floods and earthquakes. The center will also serve the State of Florida, in the event of a disaster here.
The decision to establish this center has come about following the role played by Laparkan, through its collaboration with the Americas Relied Team (ART) in facilitating the storage and shipment of emergency supplies to Haiti following last January’s devastating earthquake.
“Immediately following the earthquake in Haiti Laparkan made 50,000 square feet of warehouse space available at no cost for the storage and subsequent shipment of relief supplies from various non-government organizations (NGO’s) to Haiti. This was of tremendous help in ensuring that relief supplies were centrally stored and shipped on an as needed basis,” said Dr. Teo Babun, executive director of ART, a grouping of private sector companies that works closely with government agencies including USAID and SOUTHCOM in providing logistical support for the collection and delivery emergency relief to the Caribbean and Latin America.
Babun explained that the Haiti experience pointed to the need to have in place a fast response plan to ensure the timely delivery of relief supplies as well as supplies for the restoration of air and sea ports which are damaged as a result of a disaster.
“Donors are often concerned that aid and contributions fail to reach victims in a timely fashion, if at all. These worries are magnified by the onset of the hurricane season, which brings with it somber predictions for an active storm season — and thus a heightened possibility that the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean will be hit. Donors can be rest assured that their donations and other aid will be delivered as expeditiously as possible through the joint efforts of ART with the support of companies like Laparkan, Seaboard Marine and FedEx Express Latin America & Caribbean.
“The Laparkan Emergency Response Center pre-positions disaster items and a Bank Depository of Charity Cargo This inventory of donated or discounted cargo and in-kind support such as trucking, stevedoring, warehousing, bills of lading and gantry crane space provides relief organizations with the best options for shipping humanitarian supplies fast and efficiently,” Babun said.
Laparkan was among companies and individuals recently honored for their contributions to the Haiti Relief Effort at a special awards luncheon aboard Carnival Cruise Lines Imagination.
Laparkan chairman and chief executive officer Glen Khan has said that the establishment of the center is yet another demonstration of the company’s ongoing commitment to giving back to communities, noting that Laparkan made donations totaling some US $700,000 following floods in Guyana in 2005.
