Montego Bay, March 20, 2019 – Jamaica – Director General of the Maritime Authority of Jamaica (MAJ), Rear Admiral (Ret’d) Peter Brady, says the agency will be pushing for legislation governing exploration and development of a sustainable blue economy.
The blue
economy refers to the utilisation of the resources of the ocean for economic
benefits, while ensuring the sustainability and productivity of those same
resources. It includes tourism; shipping; commercial fishing; and activities in
the oil, gas, minerals and mining industries, among others.
Rear
Admiral Brady told JIS News that high
among the MAJ’s priorities is integrating blue economy strategies in the
National Transport Policy, which covers all aspects of transport in Jamaica –
air, water, road, railway, including infrastructure and services.
It is currently
under review by the Transport and Mining Ministry, which is closely working
with the MAJ to form the framework for the marine aspect of the policy.
“We
have been exploring and exploiting the blue economy over the years, but we
haven’t done it with the seriousness that it deserves, meaning that we haven’t
done it in a sustainable way. But when you look at just how shipping is
important to the region, all of our countries depend on shipping for our
livelihood or our economy,” said Rear Admiral Brady.
He
noted that “more than 90 per cent of trade in the Caribbean goes by sea, and in
the case of Jamaica, that is more than 70 per cent of the value of trade, which
is of tremendous importance to us and we need now to ensure that we do it
properly”.
He further
emphasised the importance of the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO)
treaties, which Jamaica has signed on to and is now in the process of enacting
the required laws in order to reap certain benefits.
“One
very important one deals with compensation and liability. If a ship, for instance,
breaks up around the coast of Jamaica and starts to spill oil on the beaches,
we can claim up to $250 million of compensation through instruments of the
IMO’s International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds (IOPC Funds),” Rear
Admiral Brady explained.
“We
have a piece of preparatory legislation in place to put that into domestic law
to give us the kind of weight and legitimacy to make those claims on the
parties that will be responsible for the compensation,” he added.
The
MAJ, in collaboration with the Transport and Mining Ministry and the IMO,
recently staged a High-Level Symposium for Transport Ministers of the Caribbean
Region at the Iberostar Hotel in Rose Hall, St. James.
The event
attracted transport ministers, permanent secretaries, transport senior
officials and maritime representatives.
“We (were)
very happy with the turnout,” Rear Admiral Brady said.
“Minister
Montague deftly handled the discussion on matters of very high priority,
leading for the final adoption of the Jamaica High Level Symposium 2019
Resolution. This resolution addressed a number of issues of great importance in
the region, including the blue economy, maritime legislation, port state
control, maritime transport policies, marine environmental protection policies
and more,” he outlined.
He
said that the MAJ will be coordinating with the other States in the region on
training and capacity-building of maritime administration.
This is
in addition to the training of Jamaican senior officials at the IMO’s World
Maritime University (WMU) in Sweden and the International Maritime Law
Institute (IMLI) in Malta.
Rear
Admiral Brady is the Chairman of the WMU board of governors.
Contact: Okoye Henry
Release: JIS
Photo Caption: Director General of the Maritime Authority of Jamaica, Rear Admiral (Ret’d) Peter Brady (right), with Minister of Transport and Mining, Hon. Robert Montague (centre); and Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Kitack Lim; at the High Level Symposium for Transport Ministers of the Caribbean Region, held recently at the Iberostar Hotel in Rose Hall, St. James.
Okoye
Henry Photos