The Bahamas re-elected as member of the IMO Council in category C. The Bahamas has been re-elected as a member of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Council in category C.
During her contribution in the House of Assembly on Wednesday, December 9, Minister of Transport and Aviation, the Hon. Glenys Hanna-Martin said that on Friday November 27, The Bahamas was ‘soundly’ re-elected by the IMO membership to serve on the IMO Council.
Category C has 20 members from states which have special interests in maritime transport or navigation and whose election to the Council will ensure the representation of all major geographic areas in the world.
Minister Hanna-Martin said: “It is in this Category that The Bahamas was re-elected along with Singapore, Turkey, Malta, Australia, Cyprus, Peru, Egypt, Kenya, Indonesia, South Africa, Morocco, Chile, Denmark, Belgium, Mexico, Malaysia, Philippines, Liberia, and Thailand. We are now the only country serving in this region.
The Minister gave an overview of the organization and outlined the various categories, which comprise the council. She said that the Council is made up of 40 member states divided into three categories.
Category A comprises of 10 states with the largest interest in providing international shipping services. Countries currently serving in Category A include China, Greece, the Russian Federation, the United States, Panama and the United Kingdom. Category B of the Council comprises of 10 states with the largest interest in international seaborne trade and includes countries such as Argentina, Germany, India, Canada, Spain and France.
Minister Hanna-Martin explained that the IMO is organ of the United Nations formed in 1948 for the global standard-setting for the safety, security and environmental performance of international shipping.
“Its main role is to create a regulatory framework for the shipping industry,” said the Minister. “More than 90 per cent of world trade is done by sea and so the efficient, safe and secure transport of goods has significant economic and quality of life impact for the planet.”
The work of the IMO includes ship design, construction, equipment, manning, operation and disposal, matters pertaining to Energy efficiency, new technology and innovation, maritime education and training, maritime security, maritime traffic management and the development of the maritime infrastructure. There are currently 171 members of the IMO. The Bahamas became a member in July of 1976.
The Bahamas hosts a ship repair and dry docking facility with a maximum lifting capacity of close to 90,000 tonnes including three floating dry docks.
The Bahamas Government through the auspices of the Bahamas Maritime Authority in collaboration with the Bahamas Ship owners Association has created a basic maritime training programme called the Maritime Cadet Corps which trains young men and women in high schools throughout the country.
Further and higher education in the maritime field is also supported by the Government in partnership with The College of The Bahamas and other domestic and international institutions for the training of young Bahamian maritime professionals.
There are currently 384 cadets enrolled in the Bahamas Maritime Cadet programme, 189 in Nassau, 78 in Grand Bahama, 40 in Abaco, 67 in Eleuthera and 10 in Inagua.
In addition, there are currently six scholarship recipients attending State University of New York Maritime College in New York with an additional scholarship to be added shortly.
The Bahamas has one of the largest ship registries in the world and The Bahamas Flag oversees a diverse ship portfolio from the largest and most modern cruise ships designs, to the largest bulk carriers and tankers and reefers to the most technologically advanced ships which extract mineral resources from the seabed.
The Bahamas flag has a gross tonnage of 63.18 million tons with 1,621 ships under the Bahamian flag.
The Government is in the process of laying amendments to the Boat registration Act, Commercial Recreational Watercraft Act, Merchant Shipping Act, Water skiing and motorboat Control Act among other legislation and should be introducing legislation for the first time to specifically regulate small commercial cargo ships.
“The draft Bills have been completed and are now being circulated for consultation with stakeholders. We are establishing, for the first time in some instances, and bolstering in other instances, maritime administrations in Bimini, Exuma, Fresh Creek, Andros and North Eleuthera,” said the Minister.
The Port Department will over the next several years embark on the recruitment of young maritime professionals drawn from the database established to serve in the promotion and strengthening of our maritime sector within The Bahamas.
“Included within this process is the redevelopment of the Eastern portion of Potters Cay Dock, a project now well underway,” she said.
By: Betty Vedrine | Bahamas Information Services
