During the 10th Annual Caribbean Port State Control Committee Meeting, hosted in Cayman at the Grand Cayman Marriott Beach Resort, a signing ceremony was held regarding the acceptance of an agreement between the Caribbean Memorandum of Understanding (CMOU) and Transport Canada on the provision, installation and setting up of a comprehensive Information System.
Such a system is essential in the development of Port State Control (PSC) for processing and disseminating information on PSC inspections, including details of deficiencies and detentions as well as actions taken to bring a ship up to standard. Further, the system will be able to share information with other MOUs (Paris and Japan, which respectively cover the European and Asian regions) which is an essential requirement in the promotion of inter-regional, and indeed global, development of PSC.
The Cayman Islands is a part of the CMOU on PSC, under which the Cayman Islands Shipping Registry (CISR) helps to ensure the requirements for safety, security and pollution prevention of foreign ships visiting Cayman are being met. If not, the Port State has a duty to take steps to minimize the risks to the ship, those onboard and the marine environment and may even detain the ship if it is found to be sufficiently non-compliant. Under the CMOU, the member countries have agreed to adopt a common approach to conducting PSC inspections and to share information on ships they have inspected. With the implementation of the Information System, the CMOU ensures that PSC is a “level playing field” for all foreign ships visiting our region.
CEO (Designate), MACI and Director of CISR, Mr. Joel Walton stated, "It has taken several years to reach such an important juncture in the development of a Caribbean Marine Information Centre (CMIC) and the Committee is extremely pleased that an agreement has finally been reached. Many systems and options have been examined to ensure that the CMOU acquires the best, and it is believed that the system to be implemented will best suit the CMOU’s needs both now and in the future. This is considered to be a great milestone in the CMOU’s development."
The CMIC is to be based in Suriname and it is expected that installation and testing will be complete by the end of July this year, with the system being fully functional by mid-September.
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