The Mexican Association of Shipping Agents (Amanac) began a new stage with the swearing-in of Roberto Meillón Covarrubias as president of its Board of Directors for the period 2026-2028, in a context where the maritime sector faces increasing pressures to modernize its processes, strengthen the country’s logistical competitiveness and consolidate a stronger dialogue with the authorities and the industry.

During his first address as head of the association, Meillón outlined an agenda based on six strategic pillars aimed at making Amanac more institutional, technological, and inclusive. “Our mission is clear: to strengthen the unity of the industry, promote reorganization, and ensure that the voice of shipping agents is heard loud and clear and respected in all areas,” he stated before representatives of the maritime, logistics, and industrial sectors.

The new president of Amanac stated that one of the main challenges will be strengthening internal governance through statutory reforms, working committees, and more robust financial mechanisms. In this regard, he announced plans to extend the presidential term from two to three years to ensure the continuity of strategic projects and accelerate institutional processes that, he acknowledged, require further development to become fully established.

Among the highlights was the launch of the Amanac Institute , an initiative spearheaded by the outgoing administration and which, according to Meillón, will be a cornerstone of his administration. “Our task will be to transform it from a project into a living reality, with academic programs, specialized instructors, and students who represent the future of the profession,” he stated.

Professionalization of the sector emerged as one of the central themes of the event. Following this line of thought, Meillón also announced the start of the ISO 9001:2015 certification process for the association, as well as a technological modernization strategy focused on digitizing processes and improving responsiveness to shipping members. “Digitalization is not a luxury; it is a necessity to respond quickly and effectively to an increasingly interconnected world,” he stated.

Another key focus of his administration will be promoting gender equality and female leadership within the maritime sector. The new president of Amanac announced mentorship and training programs to increase women’s participation in decision-making positions within the industry.

The economic agenda also featured prominently. Meillón noted that one of the main projects will be the standardization of electronic rehabilitation fees for general cargo, a measure aimed at generating direct economic benefits for members, as well as strengthening training programs and agreements that reduce operating costs. “We want every member to feel that belonging to Amanac means obtaining concrete, measurable, and valuable advantages,” he stated.

Fernando Con y Ledesma, outgoing president of Amanac, also participated in the event, emphasizing the need to maintain institutional continuity in the face of an increasingly complex maritime and port environment. “Strong institutions are those that evolve, renew themselves, and understand that each administration contributes an important part to the long-term collective effort,” he stated.

The ceremony also revealed the support of other business and transportation organizations. Francisco Fabila, president of the Mexican Association of Railroads (AMF) and representative of the Confederation of Industrial Chambers (Concamin) , stated that shipping agents have become a strategic component for national competitiveness , particularly given the reconfiguration of global supply chains and Mexico’s repositioning within international trade.

“Shipping agents are a fundamental part of Mexico’s productive structure. Without their work, goods don’t arrive, exports don’t leave, and value chains don’t function ,” stated Fabila, who also offered Concamin’s support for the agenda promoted by Amanac’s new leadership on issues such as port modernization, legal certainty, digitalization, and the training of specialized human capital.

The association comprises approximately 70 shipping agencies that account for 95% of vessel calls, facilitating the movement of roughly 95% of cargo in Mexican ports. In the tourism sector, it collaborates closely with major cruise lines.

The renewal of Amanac comes at a time when the Mexican maritime-port system faces simultaneous pressures: increased demand for logistical efficiency, more complex regulatory requirements, and the need to accelerate technological adoption to remain competitive with other international hubs. Under these circumstances, the new administration will seek to position shipping agents not only as operators of maritime trade, but also as strategic players in the country’s logistical transformation.

Comment and follow us on LinkedIn:  @Enrique Duarte Rionda  /  @GrupoT21

El cargo Roberto Meillón charts a new course at Amanac apareció primero en T21.

In the competitive and increasingly complex world of maritime and port trade, reaching almost four decades of presence, legitimacy, and influence is no coincidence. The Mexican Association of Shipping Agents (Amanac) has just celebrated its 38th anniversary , and, as its president, Fernando Con, points out, the journey has been marked by internal challenges, complex negotiations, and a logistical context that faces unprecedented pressures in 2025.

“Today, Amanac is a mature association, present in negotiations with the Mexican government and an authoritative voice before national and international organizations,” says Con.

Amanac’s story begins in 1987, when a group of seven shipping agencies decided to create an alternative business representation body for a divided sector . At that time, the shipping agent activity was highly recognized socially, and most agencies in Mexico were run by family owners.

In Con’s words, the seed of Amanac was the need for more homogeneous representation to address the union disputes and salary revisions of the time, in a country with soaring inflation and ongoing negotiations with port unions.

“It was one of the most important decisions I’ve made in my professional life: to follow the founding of Amanac and see it where it is today,” he recalls.

If you’d like to continue reading this business article, we invite you to check out the September 2025 edition of T21 magazine online. Click here .

Comment and follow us on X:  @EnriqueDuRio  /  @GrupoT2

El cargo Amanac, a navigation with a steady track record in 38 years apareció primero en T21.

VERACRUZ, VER.- The mission has been accomplished. CICE Group inaugurated yesterday the first phase of construction of its semi-specialized container and mixed cargo terminal in the northern bay of the port of Veracruz, expanding the installed capacity of this maritime hub .

“It was developed in perhaps record time: just over a year, with the highest quality standards,” said Fernando Con y Ledesma, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Grupo CICE, during the formal event that brought together partners, local authorities, and the company’s clients.

This terminal, with a surface area of ​​just over 22 hectares, will have 550 linear meters of dock (of which 350 meters have been built), with a 15-meter draft, two berthing positions, a container yard with a static capacity of at least 13,000 20-foot containers (TEU) and dynamic capacity for handling more than 500,000 TEU ; it will also add an area for refrigerated containers and hazardous cargo, a warehouse of more than eight thousand square meters, a multimodal yard with 1,970 meters of railway track, and a wastewater treatment plant to protect the environment.

The second and final stage of construction is expected to be completed during the second half of this year.

“It’s a Veracruz investment, by Veracruz residents with Mexican capital of seven billion pesos. That’s the investment we have for this terminal (…) this type of infrastructure significantly increases the operational capacity of the port of Veracruz. It will have a capacity of 500,000 containers, but perhaps they will be encouraged to expand it and it will be more,” said the governor of Veracruz, Rocío Nahle, also present at the inauguration.

For his part, Admiral Abraham Eloy Caballero Rosas, general director of the National Port System Administration (Asipona) Veracruz , stated that “with this ambitious project, the Veracruz-based company is strengthening its position as one of the state’s leading companies , quadrupling its current volume of operations and boosting Veracruz’s port activity.”

CICE is a Veracruz-based business group with 34 years of operations. It holds a concession to operate as a maneuvering center in the southern bay of the Port of Veracruz. Its investments have also led it to establish a presence in other ports, such as Tampico, where it has a mixed-cargo terminal , as well as warehouses and logistics parks in Veracruz, Mexico City, and Monterrey. Its service portfolio includes a land freight transportation division with its own units.

The company’s plans include continuing to expand its logistics footprint both in ports and throughout the country.

“Mission accomplished, we’re ready,” said Fernando Con y Ledesema, one of the 116 shareholders that make up Grupo CICE.

The port of Veracruz is positioned as a vital gateway for the entry and exit of goods from the Gulf of Mexico.

By the first quarter of this year, the port of Veracruz had handled a total of seven million 155 thousand 820 tons of merchandise , 10.1% less than the same period last year, according to statistics from the General Coordination of Ports and Merchant Marine (CGPMM) , an office of the Navy .

In terms of containers, the port added 279,937 TEUs from January to March of this year , which also meant an annual decline of 12.2 percent.

During the terminal’s inauguration, a commemorative plaque was presented to ZIM , the world’s ninth largest shipping line, for having been present with the first commercial vessel to dock at the new terminal.

“For us at ZIM, this is a source of pride because we’re constantly growing across our various services. We have the service that connects Veracruz and goes to Brazil, we have the service that goes to the Mediterranean, and we also have the service that runs throughout Central America. So, these are three of the major services for which Mexico as a country is requiring these spaces, these services,” Nalina Sankar, general director of ZIM in Mexico, told T21.

Comment and follow us on X:@EnriqueDuRio /@GrupoT21

El cargo CICE Group inaugurates new terminal at the port of Veracruz apareció primero en T21.

Few are the days in the year when a large community from the Mexican maritime and port sector, along with leaders in foreign trade, gather at a public event.

Yesterday, it happened in Mexico City at the formal ceremony of the swearing-in of the new National Directing Council 2024-2026 of the Mexican Association of Maritime Agents (Amanac), where Fernando Con y Ledesma presented himself for the third time as its president and guide.

Maritime agents are responsible for representing foreign shipping lines in the process between arrival and departure in Mexican ports. They can handle both cargo and passenger ships. Nobody knows the ins and outs of the merchant maritime world like they do.

Amanac celebrated its 36th anniversary last year. It brings together more than 120 shipping agencies representing 95% of ship calls, facilitating the movement of approximately 95% of cargo in Mexican ports. Some of them have already been in service for over 100 years.

The business of shipping agencies is thriving. Last year, the country’s ports welcomed the arrival of 21,791 ships, divided by type of cargo into breakbulk (7,223), containerized (4,909), agricultural bulk (602), mineral bulk (3,607), petroleum and derivatives (3,984), and other fluids (1,466), according to data from the General Coordination of Ports and Merchant Marine (CGPMM).

The 21,791 ships that arrived in 2023 surpassed those registered in 2022 by 5.4%. In 2019, there was a peak of 22,875 ships.

In terms of cruises, the country served 2,743 ships (+3%) last year, with nine million 78,320 passengers (+36%), according to official statistics.

During the event in Mexico City, Fernando Con y Ledesma stated that his presidency will be based on three pillars: institutionalization, functionality, and linkage.

Con y Ledesma replaced Norma Becerra, who led Amanac for the past four years but who will also stand out in the history of the organization as the first woman to preside over it.

During Becerra Pocoroba’s tenure, more visibility was given to the activity of maritime agents, thanks to the formal institution of August 6 as the Day of the Maritime Agent in Mexico in the Calendar of Commemorations, Remembrances, and Celebrations linked to civil society organizations, by the Ministry of Governance since October 2022.

Meanwhile, Alejandro Malagón Barragán, president of the Confederation of Industrial Chambers (Concamin), reaffirmed this business organization’s support for Amanac, while emphasizing that they will seek to strengthen industrial policy in a country that demands greater legal certainty and rule of law.

The National Directing Council of Amanac was also comprised of Ricardo Antonio Eversbusch Amtmann and Roberto Martín Meillón Covarrubias as vice presidents, Bernardo Vela Becerra as treasurer, René Flores Navarro as secretary, and Lidia Linares López, Andrés Echeverría Bennett, Bernardo Mercado Deverdun, and Felipe Bracamontes Venegas as board members.

“Comment and follow us on X: @EnriqueDuRio / @GrupoT21″

El cargo The maritime agents appoint their new leader in Mexico. apareció primero en T21.