Jamaica to assist regional partners with IMO Council re-election

JAMAICA WAS re-elected to serve in Category C of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Council for an eighth term at the body’s 33rd Assembly in London on Friday.

The council is the executive organ of IMO and is responsible, under the assembly, for supervising the body’s work. Between sessions of the assembly, the council performs the functions of the assembly, except that of making recommendations to governments on maritime safety and pollution prevention.

Category C consists of 20 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 of the world. The other elected nations include The Bahamas, Bangladesh, Chile, Cyprus, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Morocco, Peru, the Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and Turkey.

Leading Jamaica’s delegation to the 33rd IMO Assembly, Minister of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport (MSETT) Daryl Vaz said Jamaica recognises and fully supports the IMO’s work at all levels of its government, institutions and agencies.

He highlighted the importance to Jamaica of programmes which help developing countries, least developing countries and smallisland developing states, such as the IMO’s integrated technical cooperation programmes, strategically linked to the Sustainable Development Goals, which assist with capacity development to effectively implement international maritime instruments. “Our ability to perform as a responsible and well-regulated maritime nation has benefited from these programmes, which we fully embrace,” he said.

The delegation also comprised High Commissioner of Jamaica to the UK, HE Alexander Williams, and his team, including Deputy High Commissioner Patricia Laird Grant; Counsellor, Political and Economic, Dmitry Robertson; and Undersecretary, Political, Travis Barrett; Donovan Walker, Maritime Authority of Jamaica (MAJ) board member; Bert Smith, director of legal affairs at the MAJ; Jodi Munn Barrow, Caribbean Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control secretary general; Tanya Bedward, principal director, transport policy, MSETT; and Rear Admiral Peter Brady, director general of MAJ and special envoy.

Also attending the IMO Assembly as part of Jamaica’s delegation was MAJ Chairperson Corah Ann Robertson Sylvester, CEO of Seaboard Freight and Shipping Jamaica Limited, who is also the newly elected president of the Shipping Association of Jamaica.

Vaz also praised outgoing IMO Secretary General Kitack Lim for his eight years of “strong leadership”, including the challenging years of the COVID-19 pandemic, and congratulated Panama’s Aresenio Dominguez Velasco on his appointment assecretary-general.

Jamaica’s prominent role in global shipping regulation is an important element of its global leadership and maritime commitment. Jamaica is proud to have been a council member in Category C since 2007, bar the 2015-2016 biennium, and currently chairs the subcommittee on Implementation of IMO Instruments (III).

Vaz outlined Jamaica’s long-term objectives, fully recognising the value of international shipping as a major plank of its strategic economic outlook. He said, “The marine sector is growing the economy, while providing employment opportunities facilitated by ongoing substantial investments in world-class ports in cruise and trans-shipment, ship repair, bunkering hub, dynamic Caribbean Maritime University, and our professional maritime administration.

“We will continue to cooperate and provide assistance to our regional partners in the true spirit of IMO collaboration and cooperation, as we can ably do as a council member of this organisation.”