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Prime Minister of St
Prime Minister of St.
Vincent says:
2005, May 24, Kingstown, SVG:
The Caribbean Shipping Association (CSA)
is an ideal partner with which the Governments of the Caribbean can work for the
development of regional shipping industry.
This was of Dr. the Hon. Ralph
Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The Prime Minister
was addressing the CSA's fourth annual Caribbean Shipping Executives Conference,
being held in Kingstown, St. Vincent (2005, May 23, 24 and 25).
More than 100 of the Caribbean's
shipping industry executives from both public and private sectors have
registered as for this conference.
In delivering the keynote address
at the opening ceremony of the Conference, Dr. Gonsalves recognized the work and
achievements of the CSA in the development of the Region's shipping, as he
underscored the importance of the industry in Regional development. In this
regard he noted that the cruise industry moved just under 9 million passengers
in 2004 and CARICOM countries received 41% of the cruise calls.
He said that despite growth there
were challenges for the Caribbean, including the problem of matching ship
capacity with the low-density traffic of the Region; the levels of tariff and
port charges; and, maintaining full compliance with the International Maritime
Organization's International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code. He
also mentioned the high cost of investment in port facilities to prevent
terrorism and to accommodate bigger vessels now being built; training; and, the
need to review Customs procedures in order to process goods quickly.
As regards the ISPS Code, the
St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister said that the Code might, in some
countries, impinge on the authority of Customs in that it gives more authority
to port authorities. This situation, he said, given human psychology could
negatively affect relationships between the persons involved. The implementation
of the Code therefore requires skillful management and sensitivity by port
authorities and equally by Customs and Excise bodies.
CSA DID ITS JOB EFFECTIVELY
CSA President, Corah Ann Robertson-Sylvester, in
opening the Conference, said: "We were all very pleased last year when most
Caribbean ports were certified so that commerce and trade, the lifeblood of our
business, was not disrupted.
"The CSA had effectively done
its job of informing the shipping industry and therefore facilitating the
process of (ISPS) certification."
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