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Port and logistics leader completes doctoral research focused on “Sustainable Port Development and International Relations”

TIMES CARIBBEAN | ST. JOHN’S, ANTIGUA — Antigua and Barbuda Port Authority Chief Executive Officer Darwin Telemaque has marked another major milestone in his professional and academic journey, announcing that he has been presented with a doctoral degree following approximately three years of study and research.

Telemaque said the degree was presented to him on Sunday, September 13, 2026, by Professor Richard Teare, President of the Global University for Lifelong Learning (GULL).

His research thesis was titled “Sustainable Port Development and International Relations” — a subject closely connected to the work that has defined much of his career across port management, logistics, regional transportation and maritime development.

According to Telemaque, the academic journey began during the first half of 2023 and concluded in 2026.

“Thank you to all who knowingly or not may have contributed to this major achievement,” Telemaque said while announcing the milestone.

He offered special thanks to his wife and family, the Government of Antigua and Barbuda, the minister responsible for the port, Prime Minister Gaston Browne, and the board, management and staff of the Antigua and Barbuda Port Authority.

Telemaque also acknowledged the regional and international organisations with which he has worked over the years, including the Port Management Association of the Caribbean (PMAC), Organisation of American States’ Inter-American Committee on Ports, Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States and Association of Caribbean States.

The qualification adds another dimension to a career already heavily rooted in Caribbean maritime development.

Telemaque serves as CEO of the Antigua and Barbuda Port Authority and has been centrally involved in the redevelopment and modernisation of St. John’s Harbour. The Port Management Association of the Caribbean lists him as its chairman and notes that his previous academic qualifications include a Master’s degree in Logistics and Supply Chain Management from the Caribbean Maritime University.

UN Trade and Development has also highlighted Telemaque’s extensive background in port operations, transportation, logistics, project management and safety management, along with his role in Antigua and Barbuda’s modern port redevelopment programme.

The Antigua and Barbuda Port Authority currently identifies Telemaque as CEO within its management team.

His doctoral research topic is particularly timely for the Caribbean, where ports are increasingly being required to balance commercial growth with climate resilience, technological transformation, environmental sustainability, international trade requirements and closer regional cooperation.

For Telemaque, the degree therefore represents more than an academic milestone. It builds upon years of practical experience managing the challenges facing small-island ports and participating in regional and international discussions on the future of Caribbean maritime transportation.

GULL describes itself as a nonprofit lifelong-learning network focused heavily on workplace and community-based learning. For clarity, the organisation states that its awards operate outside the conventional accreditation system and that it does not offer accredited awards, instead pursuing recognition and institutional or government endorsement for its professional learning model.

Professor Richard Teare, who presented Telemaque with the degree, is GULL’s president and co-founder and has a long background in workplace and community-based learning.

For the veteran Caribbean port executive, however, Sunday’s presentation capped a journey he says stretched across three years of sustained research, professional reflection and study.

And fittingly, the subject sits right at the intersection of the work that has shaped his career: ports, sustainability and the international relationships increasingly determining the Caribbean’s place in global trade.

Congratulations to Dr. Darwin Telemaque on this latest professional and educational milestone.