Bahamas elected as Vice Chair of Caribbean Port State Control Committee

Whilst being widely known for its flag state activities, The Bahamas being an island nation has port state responsibilities and obligations.

In this capacity, The Bahamas is an active member of the Caribbean Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control (CMOU) whose principle objective is to eliminate the operation of sub-standard ships in the Caribbean  region through a harmonized system of port state control throughout the region to ensure that shipping is conducted in a safe, secure and environmentally friendly manner .  The CMOU comprises of fifteen Member states and one Associate member States with the IMO Caribbean Regional Maritime Adviser and representatives from United States Coast Guard, Paris MOU, Vina del Mar MOU and other Regional Port state MOUs regularly attending the CMOU meetings as observers.

The executive body of the CMOU is the Caribbean Port State Control Committee and during the recent 20th meeting of the CPSCC hosted by Barbados, the member states at CPSCC 20 re-elected Captain Dwain Hutchinson of The Bahamas  Maritime Authority as the the CPSCC Vice Chairman.  In addition to the nomination of Captain Hutchinson,  The Bahamas was pleased to propose and have the CPSCC approved the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 as a Relevant Instrument of the CMOU.  The application and enforcement of the MLC 2006 provisions will further strengthen the inspection capabilities of the CMOU member States thus ensuring that the welfare of seafarers employed on ships operating in the Caribbean are protected.  The CPSCC also approved amendments to the regional Codes of safety and future training programmes for Port State Control Officers in the region.