Boosting regional port security
high priority for Shipping Assn
MAHO--While some ports in the region have excellent security measures and are ready to deal with any kind of terrorism or other risks, others are not up to standard, a concern the Caribbean Shipping Association (CSA) has taken seriously and is working to remedy.
Addressing the seventh annual Caribbean Shipping Executives Conference at Sonesta Maho Beach Resort Monday, CSA President Fernando Rivera said the association was establishing a permanent council to deal with port security in the region.
Its core goals will be to keep port security on the regional agenda, give port and terminal operators an independent, unbiased organisation with which to discuss their security needs, and provide software suppliers with a reliable source of information about the Caribbean’s needs and policies.
CSA also plans to assist smaller Caribbean territories to effectively secure their port systems and operations, a conclusion from the group’s General Council retreat in Miami earlier this year.
On the cooperation front, CSA will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Organisation of American States (OAS) Inter-American Committee on Ports prior to its Annual General Meeting in October. A committee already has been established to serve as a permanent Inter-American Forum of the OAS to strengthen hemispheric cooperation in port development.
Officially opening the conference, hosted by St. Maarten Harbour Group of Companies, Lt. Governor Franklyn Richards said the meeting came at a time when the shipping industry in the region continued to face serious challenges, including security, managing volume, minimising congestion, handling waste and the effects on the environment. The three-day conference covers these topics and delves into cruising with a special workshop on Thursday.
This is also an exciting and expanding period in the shipping industry with the planned third lock of the Panama Canal, a US $5.2 billion project, under construction with a schedule completion date of 2014, he added.
“One can only imagine how excited Caribbean shipping officials must be at the prospects offered with the expansion of the Panama Canal. I am confident that you are already looking towards the future, with the knowledge that as result of the new regional trade patterns that could evolve following expansion of the Panama Canal, Caribbean ports stand to benefit from an influx of containers for transhipment.”
Commenting on environmental protection, Richards said it could not be stressed enough that, collectively, all stakeholders shared responsibility to protect the environment from which the region directly benefited and to work hand-in-hand with government agencies carry out their monitoring responsibilities.
Highlighting St. Maarten’s place in the regional shipping arena, Richards said the island had experienced unprecedented growth, particularly in the past eight years. St. Maarten handled 44,000 twenty-foot equivalent (TEU) containers in 2001, while 81,000 TEU containers were processed in 2007.
“St. Maarten has experienced the kind of growth that underscores a new standard in the Caribbean. We have shown what it means to develop plans and stick to your commitment,” he said.
The Island Government “has stood behind the keen vision presented in 1994 by the present Commissioner of Harbour Affairs, Theodore Heyliger, who at that time, 14 years ago, set the tone for what we have today, what we continue to develop today and the very superb relations we have established in both the cruise, shipping and cargo industries,” Richards said.
Rounding off the first day of the conference were several presentations, including one dealing with Terminal Capacity in the Caribbean, specifically managing volume increases, labour and productivity. John Bressi, Chief Operating Officer of San Vincente Terminal in Chile, outlined the methods used in his port to maximise production, better use space and plan better for the future.
