A signing ceremony last week marked agreement between the Caribbean Memorandum of Understanding and Transport Canada during the 10th Annual Caribbean Port State Control Committee Meeting.
The agreement is for the provision, installation and formation of a comprehensive information system, according to a press release from the Cayman Islands Shipping Registry.
‘Such a system is essential in the development of Port State Control 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,’ the release said.
‘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,’ it said.
The Cayman Islands is a part of the CMOU on PSC, under which the Cayman Islands Shipping Registry helps to ensure the requirements for safety, security and pollution prevention of foreign ships visiting Cayman are being met.
If not, the Port State takes steps to minimise 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, member countries 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, said the release.
CEO (Designate), MACI and Director of CISR, Joel Walton said: ‘It has taken several years to reach such an important juncture in the development of a Caribbean Marine Information Centre, 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 will be based in Suriname. Installation and testing will be complete by the end of July, with the system being fully functional by mid-September.
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