MINISTER PICKERSGILL ADDRESSES IMO SHIPPING CONFERENCE

On Thursday, November 10, 2005, Minister Robert Pickersgill gave the main address at the IMO Shipping Conference held at the Pegasus Hotel under the theme, ‘Jamaica’s Position In The Shipping World’.

In making the point that shipping is responsible for the carriage of over 90% of world trade and is seen as the life blood of many economies, Minister Pickersgill said that Jamaica had a lot to recommend it as an attractive shipping base. These he enumerated as:
• Natural harbours and advantageous geographic location
• The country’s legal framework of English common law and the passing of the Shipping Act, 1998 that encompasses the major International Maritime Organisation (IMO) conventions.
• A pleasant physical environment that makes Jamaica an attractive destination for tourists.
• The intellectual infrastructure - a well educated workforce trained at Universities, colleges and other institutions both locally and internationally, including the specialised Caribbean Maritime Institute.
• The development of considerable expertise in many areas of maritime operations and management, due to growth in the cargo and cruise ship port operations.
• Expertise is also readily available in legal, accounting, financial and insurance fields.
• The country’s physical infrastructure of reliable air transportation, comfortable accommodations and state of the art telecommunications and
• Political stability, liberal foreign exchange regulations and the absence of restrictions on foreign ownership of ships, have all inured to a solid foundation for a shipping centre concept.

Jamaica’s position in the international maritime arena has been strengthened by a number of initiatives. One such is the massive port expansion programme which has been undertaken by the Port Authority of Jamaica (PAJ). This included all the major ports for cruise and cargo. The Kingston Container Terminal has seen improved efficiencies and productivity resulting in an additional one quarter million TEU’s for last year bringing the total to 1.2 million. Additionally, four Super Post Panamex Gantry cranes to boost efficiency and enhance Kingston’s reputation as a major transhipment hub in the region.

Plans are also in place to expand cruise facilities in Ocho Rios and Montego Bay, Jamaica’s ports of registry for ships flying the Jamaican flag.

Another important initiative in aimed at improving Jamaica’s visibility in the marine environment was the launch of the Jamaica International Ship Registry. The Registry which was launched in October, 2000 provides for ship and mortgage registration services to the international shipping community. The idea was that the development of the ship registry would integrate the achievements in the transhipment, maritime education and training and cruise sectors. An important aspect of the Ship Registry was Jamaica’s inclusion on the IMO’s ‘White List’ of countries among the first set of member states to achieve that status. Through the work of the Maritime Authority of Jamaica (MAJ), this status, which says that Jamaica is a responsible maritime state which put the country among those which have demonstrated that their operations are of international standards. The current Director General of the MAJ is the Chairman of the STW Sub-committee which is the IMO rule making body for the STCW Convention.

Other moves to place Jamaica among the elite in terms of maritime activities include:
• Major investments being made in marina development the foremost being the $500M investment in the Port Antonio Marina.
• The establishment of a Distribution Logistics Centre by ZIM in partnership with the PAJ
• The investment in an offshore facility to provide bunkers to vessels plying the trade routes close to Jamaica’s territorial waters; this by a Greek Company, Aegean Bunkering Jamaica Ltd.
• Montego Bay is designated an ideal home porting centre by virtue of its location to the airport, good transport services, baggage service and fresh water
• The idea of dry docking is being explored
• Feasibility studies associated with the establishment of a Ship generated Waste Facility for the Port of Kingston
• The CMI has been playing a great role with respect to crewing activities

In making the push for Jamaica’s maritime development, Minister Pickersgill said, “ To solidify the vision, we need the non-traditional maritime areas to come on board in a bigger way…opportunities will present themselves in non-traditional maritime fields…lawyers, for example will be required to act as corporate agents for the ship owners, and or the attorneys, provide opinions on registration …”

The Minister ended his discourse by noting that the vision of Jamaica as a shipping centre promises much for the economic growth and development. He highlighted the fact that the Government stands ready to do its part in terms of policy and legislation. ‘The framework is in place and it is only a matter of exploiting the advantages that exist for Jamaica to become the next World Maritime Centre’, he advised.