Kingston, 29 May 2025 – The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange, has said that Port Royal is set to become a World Heritage Site by July.

Minister Grange made the announcement at the Floral tribute marking the 95th anniversary of the birth of the former Prime Minister, the Most Honourable Edward Seaga on Wednesday (yesterday).

Minister Grange said: “I proudly report today that I’ve received the good news from the World Heritage Centre that the evaluation team has recommended that our nomination of Port Royal should be accepted for inscription on the world heritage list in July of this year.”

The Minister described news that the evaluation team had recommended the inscription as “another win for Jamaica”.

She said it was also news that “Mr Seaga would be proud to hear" as his Administration of the 1980s had proposed three Jamaican sites, including Port Royal, to the World Heritage List.

The town, once the enclave of pirates, grew to become the most important trading post and the most affluent town in the New World. It became known as both the richest and the wickedest city in the West, if not the whole world.
At the height of its immense wealth in the 17th century disaster struck. On 7 June 1692 an earthquake caused two-thirds of Port Royal to sink into the sea. Remarkably, 332 years on, it is a well preserved site that captures life as it was being lived in Port Royal at the time.

Minister Grange said that World Heritage Site designation, added to the development of the Cruise Ship Pier, would seriously enhance Port Royal’s and Jamaica’s culture and heritage tourism product.

‘The Archaeological Landscape of 17th Century Port Royal’ would join the Blue and John Crow Mountains as Jamaican properties on the World Heritage List.

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