Guyana is slated to be the host of the 24th annual Caribbean Memorandum of Understanding (CMOU) Port State Control Committee meeting, under the auspices of the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) during the period of June 19-21, 2019.
The meeting is scheduled to be held at the Marriott Hotel.
This committee meets annually to collectively discuss how to set standards to abide with the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) conventions and it also explores ways of improving the living and working conditions of seafarers in the Caribbean. The CMOU is a regional co-operation body affiliated to the IMO.
Another main function of the CMOU is to harmonise measures of member states, with special emphasis placed on training, certification, manning guidelines, inspections, and guidelines for surveyors.
Meanwhile, Guyana has been a founding member of the CMOU for Port State Control in the Caribbean Region since its formation in Barbados, on February 9, 1996. Other founding members include Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, the Netherland Antilles, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.
The membership has since increased to 18 states with the addition of Aruba, Bahamas, Belize, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Cuba, France, St. Kitts & Nevis, and St. Lucia. In addition, St. Vincent and the Grenadines has joined as an associate member state. Other observer states have indicated their willingness to become members, and it is hoped that the membership of the CMOU will continue to grow over the next few years.
It is expected that attendance to this meeting will include the CARICOM member states, along with Aruba, Bermuda, Cuba, Curacao, the Netherlands, and France, and representatives from intra-governmental organisations such as the Paris MOU, the IMO, and the United States Coast Guard (USCG), along with a few commercial shipping interests.
