Cayman hosts Port State Control Meeting

The Cayman Islands has been designated to host the 10th Annual Caribbean Port State Control Meeting. The event takes place on Tuesday, June 7th - Thursday, June 9th at the Grand Cayman Marriott Beach Resort.

Port State Control (PSC) currently falls under the responsibility of the Cayman Islands Shipping Registry (CISR) which, in conjunction with the Cayman Islands Investment Bureau, will be responsible for the coordination of this meeting.

The Cayman Islands is a part of the Caribbean Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Port State Control, under which the 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 MOU, the member countries have agreed to adopt a common approach to conducting PSC inspections and to share information on ships they have inspected. The MOU ensures that PSC is a "level playing field" for foreign ships visiting our region.

CEO (Designate), MACI and Director of CISR, Joel Walton, commented, "We are pleased to host this important regional body at another milestone in its development. We are also happy to see the progress of Caribbean Port State Control and to be able to actively participate in its continued developments."

The Caribbean MOU was finalised in February 1996 and the inaugural Meeting of its Committee was in fact held in the Cayman Islands. At that time there were some six Members and this number has now grown to twelve.

Member delegates of the Caribbean MOU will be in attendance from Aruba, Antigua & Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Cuba, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname, Netherlands Antilles and Trinidad & Tobago. Observer delegates from Anguilla, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Dominica, St. Kitts & Nevis, Montserrat, Turks & Caicos Islands, St. Lucia and St. Vincent & the Grenadines will also be present. In addition, there will be official representation from the International Maritime Organization, Paris MOU, Transport Canada, Vina Del Mar Agreement, United States Coast Guard and also from Lloyd’s Fairplay, who are assisting the region in developing a small ship Identification Number system.