Barton Kirkconnell

Barton Kirkconnell was born on Cayman Brac to a maritime family of ship owners. He attended Munro College in Jamaica and later became a salesman in the marketing department of Adolph Levy and Bros. In 1957 he joined Jamaica Fruit & Shipping (JFS) as managing director. He was then asked by Ernest Johnston, president of the Shipping Association of Jamaica (SAJ), to form a partnership to operate a shipping service from Miami. They later formed Kirk Line, a shipping line serving Kingston, Miami, and Montego Bay.

In 1976 Kirkconnell and Johnston formed Jamaica Freight and Shipping, a subsidiary of JFS, which served as port and shipping agents for bauxite delivery. Kirkconnell is considered a pioneer and visionary who helped establish Jamaica’s shipping industry. At the 1959 Pan American Games he represented the British West Indies and won bronze in the flying dutchman (with Rawle Barrow).