GEORGE TOWN, Grand Cayman – The Maritime Authority of the Cayman Islands (MACI), parent organisation of the Cayman Islands Shipping Registry, recently hosted the 1st Annual Caribbean Memorandum of Understanding (CMOU) Port State Control Seminar for port state control officers, 7 – 9 July, at the Grand Cayman Marriott Beach Resort.
“The seminar was directed at port state control officers at an intermediate level and was intended to be a sharing of ideas and experience, to promote better consistency throughout the region and to develop the PSC activities within the CMOU as a whole,” explains Mr. Peter Southgate, MACI Deputy Divisional Director, Global Safety and Compliance. “And, from all reports, I think we succeeded,” he added.
Port State Control is conducted by maritime authorities around the globe who inspect foreign ships that call into national ports in order to ensure that the condition of the ship and its equipment comply with the requirements of international regulations and that the ship is manned and operated in compliance with those rules.
Delegates from Antigua & Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, the Netherlands Antilles, Suriname, and the U.S. attended the conference.
Local CISR delegates included Messrs. Duncan Currie, Senior Surveyor; Saagar Kadiyala, Surveyor Trainee; Vassel Johnson III, Surveyor Intern, and Ms. Krista Dixon, Maritime Officer, Survey Administration.
The Chairman of the CMOU Port State Control Committee, Mr. Dwight Gardiner of Antigua and Barbuda, addressed the Seminar and noted that training is one of the major objectives of the event. “Continuous training of Port State Control Officers is necessary due to instruments, protocols and amendments that are constantly evolving under the aegis of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO),” he noted. He also paid MACI/CISR a compliment, saying that, “the Caymanian Administration has set the standard for workshops and meetings.”
The Seminar was an interactive event and the CMOU Secretariat arranged for contributions from high profile international speakers. These included Mr. Markus Helavuori, Maritime Inspector, Finnish Maritime Administration; Mr. Joe Riva, Assistant Chief Surveyor – Americas, American Bureau of Shipping, and Mr. Tio C. Devaney, Development Manager, Lloyd’s Register – North America.
Topics for presentations and discussions included an update on activities by the CMOU Secretariat; the Paris Memorandum of Understanding (PMOU); MARPOL (International Convention on the Prevention of Pollution from Ships); Port State Control (PSC) Measures, Prevention, and Deficiencies; Oil Tanker related issues; the AFS (Anti-Fouling Systems) Convention; a Statutory Update with respect to PSC enforcement; the BWM (Ballast Water Management) Convention, and a workshop on Lifeboat Safety.
The idea for the seminar was first spawned from a previous PSC Committee meeting held in Trinidad and Tobago in June 2007 and MACI was eager to host the first event of its kind here in Cayman.
The Inaugural Seminar’s Chairman was Mr. Peter Southgate, and he was supported by a number of MACI personnel during the 3-day event, including Ms. Nancylee Bodden, Manager, Business Development and Client Relationships; Ms. Dorisley Jackson, Coordinator, Events; Ms. Katrina Pona, Senior Client Service Officer, Mr. Collin McRae, Coordinator, Technical Compliance, and Ms. Shawanna Hera, Management Trainee.
Overall, the feedback from the attendees was extremely positive and the justification for future events clearly established, concluded Mr. Southgate.
For further information contact: Corporate Communications