Election to the IMO Council will provide Jamaica with the opportunity to further contribute to ensuring equity and consensus in decision-making within the IMO. Jamaica’s membership on the Council will ensure that the interests of the Member States of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developing Countries (LDCs) continue to be adequately represented and defended within the IMO.

JAMAICA FOR

INTERNATIONAL MARITIME ORGANIZATION

COUNCIL

2018-2019

The Most Honourable Andrew Holness, O.N., M.P.PRIME MINISTER

The Government of Jamaica has submitted its candidature for election to Category “C” of the Council of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), for the period 2018-2019. Elections will be held during the 30th Regular Session of the IMO Assembly which is scheduled to be held in London, England, from 27th November 2017 to 8th December 2017.

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JAMAICA is A maritime staTE

Jamaica is the largest English-speaking island

state in the Caribbean and has had a long history of

involvement in maritime affairs, including shipping.

Jamaica will offer leadership, commitment and strategic focus as an IMO Council member. Jamaica believes that it is of utmost importance that internationally accepted regulations be implemented to promote maritime safety, security, improved working conditions on board ships and enhanced pollution prevention measures consistent with the sustainable development goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

JAMAICA AND THE INTERNATIONAL MARITIME

ORGANIZATION (IMO)

Jamaica joined the IMO in 1976, and since then has ratified the principal Conventions governing maritime safety, security and pollution prevention.

The country implements its flag, port and coastal State obligations, through a well established legal and administrative framework instituted by the Government of Jamaica.

As a member of the Council, Jamaica actively participates in the work of the IMO and was elected for the 2008-2009, 2010-2011, 2012-2013 and 2014-2015 biennia, and consistently represents the interests of the Caribbean region as well as those of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs).

Jamaica serves on the IMO’s panel of competent persons established under the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW), 1978 as amended.

l Chairing the IMO Sub-Committee on Standards of Training and Watchkeeping (STW) for a decade.

l Overseeing the comprehensive revision of the international Convention governing the training and certification of seafarers.

l Chairing Committee 1 of the IMO Assembly.

Among Jamaica’s IMO achievements are -

Minister of Transport and MiningHon. L. Michael Henry C.D., M.P.

Our presence on the Council will ensure that serious consideration is given to the challenges being faced by Small Island Developing States (SIDS), when international treaties on matters on which our very survival hinges, are negotiated and adopted.

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Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign TradeSENATOR THE HON. Kamina Johnson Smith

Jamaica is a Lead Partnering Country under the IMO supported GloBallast Partnership Programme and continues to play a major role in the implementation of the Project in the Caribbean region.

The country hosted the pilot regional workshop on the conduct of Port Biological Baseline Surveys which is a key element in the compliance regime of the Ballast Water Management Convention 2004. The Government of Jamaica has given its approval for Jamaica’s accession to the Convention and the Instrument of Accession will be presented to the IMO in 2017.

In 2015, the Director General was awarded the Seatrade Award for his contribution to global maritime education and training. He was also elected as Vice-Chairman of the Board of Governors (BOG) of the World Maritime University in Sweden, in 2015 and presided at the annual meeting of the BOG as Chairman in May 2016.

Jamaica is principally represented at the IMO by the

Director General of the Maritime Authority of Jamaica, Rear

Admiral Peter Brady.

Rear Admiral Peter Brady

Jamaica has a highly developed maritime infrastructure, which comprises container, cruise and bulk cargo ports, maritime administration and ship registration, as well as the training of seafarers and shipping personnel.

The country has demonstrated a vested interest in port, flag and coastal State Standards and has been actively supporting the work of the IMO in these areas.

Jamaica’s transshipment activities are located in the seventh largest natural harbour in the world and Jamaica is also the second largest transshipment hub in the Caribbean region.

Jamaican ports handle cargo destined to and from North, Central and South America, Europe and Asia, receiving a level of shipping traffic much higher than that reflected by its trade alone, (over ninety per cent (90%) of Jamaica’s exports and imports is transported by ship). In 2015, approximately 3,397 vessel calls were recorded at Jamaican ports, carrying in excess of twenty-two (22) million tonnes of cargo.

The Government recently awarded a thirty-year concession to a consortium, led by CMA CGM, to operate the transshipment terminal. This confirms the strategic and essential role which port activities play for Jamaica in terms of employment and foreign exchange earnings. These activities also support other States in the region whose trade and well-being are supported through the network of feeder services operating from Kingston Freeport Terminal Limited located in the Kingston Harbour.

NATIONAL MARITIME ACTIVITIES

Jamaica is a preferred destination for cruise shipping and continues to be a global leader in the sector, evidenced by its receipt of the “World’s Leading Cruise Destination” award for six (6) consecutive years.

The historic Port of Falmouth was purpose-built to accommodate the Genesis class ships. The destination continues to experience major growth, with over 10% increase in passenger arrivals in the past year.

REGIONAL INTERESTS Caribbean Maritime Institute (CMI) Jamaica is a growing seafarer supply nation, and the Government of Jamaica through the Caribbean Maritime Institute (CMI) continues to promote seafaring as a viable career to Jamaican, other Caribbean and foreign nationals. The Government has also been engaged in the expansion and upgrading of the facilities at the CMI to support the increased output of seafarers and has strengthened agreements with ship owners to partner with the CMI for increasing the training opportunities of seafarers for the international market.

Jamaica is the primary source of tertiary maritime training for Caribbean nationals. CMI is the only IMO-recognized maritime education and training provider in the English-speaking Caribbean for the training of officers.

The CMI is led by Executive Director, Dr. Fritz Pinnock, who has made significant contributions to the region by spearheading many initiatives geared toward preparing Caribbean Nationals for logistics centred economies through education. His mandate is to bridge the gap between technical and vocational training, professional certification and academic pursuits. With the support of the Ministry of Transport and Mining, the CMI will transition to a specialized maritime university to better meet the growing needs of the region for industry ready maritime professionals.

Caribbean Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control (CMOU)Jamaica is the host country of the Secretariat of the Caribbean Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control (CMOU), located at the Maritime Authority of Jamaica and has collaborated with its Caribbean neighbours through the CMOU, to eliminate sub-standard shipping in the region through an active ship inspection programme and participation in the programmes initiated under the CMOU.

Jamaica has accepted the request from the Technical Cooperation Division of the IMO to provide technical assistance to countries in the region, in order to enable them, inter alia, to meet their obligations under the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW).

Women in Maritime Association (WIMA) ConferenceIn April 2015, Jamaica hosted the inaugural regional Women in Maritime Association (WIMA) Conference. During this meeting, the Deputy Director General of the Maritime Authority of Jamaica was elected as President of the newly-formed Women in Maritime Association Caribbean (WIMAC) and was re-elected as President at the Association’s Annual Conference held in Grand Cayman in 2016.

Jamaica is host and headquarters for the Seabed Authority. The authority was established by the UNITED NATIONS Convention on the Law of the Sea to organize, regulate and control alL mineral-related activities in the international seabed area beyond the limits of national jurisdiction, an area underlying most of the world’s oceans.

l Dr. Fritz Pinnock received the prestigeous Socrates Award in England, during the official ceremony at the Oxford University. He is the first Jamaican to have won this award.

l Claudia Grant, Deputy Director General of the Maritime Authority of Jamaica was re-elected President of Women in Maritime Association, Caribbean.