CMOU Hosts its 6th Annual PSC Seminar
The Caribbean MOU on port State control held its 6th Annual port State control seminar for officers within the region. This seminar was hosted by the Netherlands Shipping Inspectorate in conjunction with the Maritime Authority of Curaçao from April 8 – 10, 2014 in Willemstad, Curaçao. In addition, two days of On-the-job Training was provided for participants from April 11 – 12, 2014.
The three days of the seminar focussed on the Concentrated Inspection Campaign on Fire Fighting Systems scheduled to be held from September 1 – November 30, 2014 and MARPOL Annex V. The seminar also included the practical inspection of a passenger ship and an oil tanker on both the CIC and on MARPOL Annex V.
During the Opening Ceremony of the seminar, the Director of the Maritime Authority of Curaçao, Mr. Jan Sierhuis opened the seminar on behalf of the Minister of Traffic, Transport and Urban Planning who was unavoidably absent. He spoke on the importance of the matters being discussed this week especially with respect to MARPOL Annex V being that the Caribbean region has been designated as sensitive sea area by the IMO. He welcomed everyone and wished for them a very progressive week of training.
The Chairman of the CMOU, Amb. Dwight Gardiner of Antigua and Barbuda, expressed appreciation to the Netherlands Shipping Inspectorate and the Maritime Authority of Curaçao for preparation, hosting and moderation of the Seminar. He noted that training continues to be of vital importance for the proper functioning of the CMOU and is at the core of fulfilling its mandate. As such, the CMOU seeks to enhance the regional training of its Port State Control Officers (PSCOs) whenever possible. This training session is one of the major objectives of the CMOU and the aim of the workshop is to enhance the regional training of the PSCOs in the Caribbean.
Amb. Gardiner also reiterated the importance of the PSCOs in attendance, returning to their respective territories to assist with the training of other officers. He highlighted that resources are very scarce due to the current economic climate, and therefore all Member States have a responsibility to try to develop their human resource expertise in the most economically viable options that are available.
The participants of the Seminar all expressed their appreciation for the continued hosting of this training event and indicated their support for further training especially with respect to the On-the-Job Training aspect which was held for the first time this year.
