GEORGE TOWN, Grand Cayman – The Cayman Islands has become part of an international initiative which aims to enhance the safety of merchant ships and the security of the countries they visit. The International Maritime Organization’s requirement for the Long Range Identification and Tracking of ships (LRIT) entered into force on 1 July and obliges ships to transmit their location and identity via satellite on a 4-times-a-day basis. This information is available to the ship’s country of registration or “Flag State”, the governments of countries in the vicinity of the ship and also to international search and rescue agencies.
Around 400 ships and yachts registered in the Cayman Islands are required to comply with these new requirements and Cayman is one of the few Flag States whose ships can boast full compliance with the new requirements. To manage the information from the ships, it has been necessary for the Cayman Islands to establish an LRIT Data Centre. This Data Centre routes information from Cayman-flagged ships to both the Cayman Islands Government and to other authorised recipients.
Ensuring that Cayman complies with the international responsibilities in relation to LRIT falls to the Maritime Authority of the Cayman Islands (MACI) with day-to-day operation being undertaken by the Cayman Islands Shipping Registry (CISR), a division of MACI.
“To successfully test 400 ships and have them reporting through the Cayman Islands Data Centre by the July deadline represents a tremendous achievement” agreed MACI’s CEO, Mr. A. Joel Walton, and the head of the CISR Southampton-based European Regional Office, Mr. Greg Evans, Director, Global Safety and Compliance. “The owners and managers of Cayman-registered ships are to be congratulated for accomplishing this in the time available,” said Mr. Walton. “LRIT implementation also represents a substantial investment by Cayman, but knowing the location of all ships on the world’s oceans will make life safer for those onboard Cayman ships and enhance international maritime security,” added Mr. Evans.
MACI is headquartered in George Town, Grand Cayman, and maintains eight other geographic operational bases, in Ft. Lauderdale; London and Southampton, U.K.; Monaco; Athens; Singapore; Tokyo, and Hong Kong. This assures CISR’s ability to serve its valued worldwide clientele on a 24/7 basis.
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