Cruising in Barbados

Background

The island was uninhabited when first settled by the British in 1627. Slaves worked the sugar plantations established on the island until 1834 when slavery was abolished. The economy remained heavily dependent on sugar, rum, and molasses production through most of the 20th century. The gradual introduction of social and political reforms in the 1940s and 1950s led to complete independence from the UK in 1966. In the 1990s, tourism and manufacturing surpassed the sugar industry in economic importance.

Geography

Location: Caribbean, island in the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela
Geographic coordinates: 13 10 N, 59 32 W
Map references: Central America and the Caribbean
Area: total: 431 sq km
Land: 431 sq km
Water: 0 sq km
Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline

97 km

Maritime claims

Territorial sea: 12 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate

Tropical; rainy season (June to October)

Terrain

Relatively flat; rises gently to central highland region

Elevation extremes

lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Hillaby 336 m

Economy

Historically, the Barbadian economy had been dependent on sugarcane cultivation and related activities, but production in recent years has diversified into light industry and tourism. Offshore finance and information services are important foreign exchange earners. The government continues its efforts to reduce unemployment, to encourage direct foreign investment, and to privatize remaining state-owned enterprises. The economy contracted in 2002-03 mainly due to a decline in tourism. Growth was positive in 2005, as economic conditions in the US and Europe moderately improved.

Transportation

Airports: 1 (2005)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2005)
Roadways: total: 1,600 km
paved: 1,600 km (2003)

Merchant marine

Total: 57 ships (1000 GRT or over) 450,391 GRT/703,307 DWT
By type: bulk carrier 12, cargo 32, chemical tanker 6, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 3, roll on/roll off 2, specialized tanker 1
Foreign-owned: 55 (The Bahamas 1, Canada 8, Greece 11, Lebanon 2, Monaco 1, Norway 24, UAE 1, UK 7)
Registered in other countries: 1 (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1) (2005)

Sailing Specifics: Ports and terminals

Bridgetown

Disputes

In 2005, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago agreed to compulsory international arbitration that will result in a binding award challenging whether the northern limit of Trinidad and Tobago's and Venezuela's maritime boundary extends into Barbadian waters and the southern limit of Barbadian traditional fishing; joins other Caribbean states to counter Venezuela's claim that Aves Island sustains human habitation, a criterion under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which permits Venezuela to extend its EEZ/continental shelf over a large portion of the Caribbean Sea  

Other Sailing Destinations in the Region

Anguilla - Antigua and Barbuda - Aruba - Bahamas - Barbados - British Virgin Islands - Cayman Islands - Cuba - Dominica - Dominican Republic - Grenada - Guadeloupe - Haiti - Jamaica - St. Kitts and Nevis - St. Lucia - Martinique - Montserrat - Netherlands Antilles - Puerto Rico - Trinidad and Tobago - Turks and Caicos - St. Vincent and the Grenadines - Virgin Islands (USA)

Further Reading

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