OAS Sponsor's 4-Day Regional Port Security Workshop

Contact: John Emmanuel

Tuesday, June 27, 2000 - Port officials from St. Lucia and their counterparts from the region are meeting in St. Lucia for a four-day, OAS sponsored, regional course on Port Security. The workshop, which began on Monday, June 26, 2000, seeks to provide information and establish mechanisms for improving security at ports. Chairman of the St. Lucia Air and Sea Ports Council, Dr. Bernard La Corbiniere, says poor security can affect a port’s competitive advantage.

According to La Corbiniere, "There have been instances where ships have been subjected to costly delays resulting from searches and other intervention procedures simply because along their journey they may have called at ports with poor security systems. The costs of those delays are inevitably passed on to the producers and consumers of the cargo at both ends. Not only is the cost passed on when it has actually been incurred, but it is likely that because of the risk of potential delays on some shipping routes shippers and shipping lines increase their rates accordingly. In these times of fiscal restraint, poor security systems at ports and the bad publicity which results, can do as much or more damage to a port than the lack of cranage and berthing facilities."

Officials of the St. Lucia Air and Sea Ports Authority (SLASPA) say that a coordinated, multilateral approach to improving port security in the western hemisphere is needed, in order to deal with mounting pressures from illegal drugs and other contraband substances. It is believed that closer collaborative efforts between regional port officials and the public, result in greater safeguards and better efficiency.

Meantime, Communication, Works, Transport and Public Utilities Minister, Senator Honourable Calixte George, says prospects for growth and development of the region’s maritime industry are favourable. However he says island states must make the most of available opportunities to expand and diversify port facilities, while at the same time increasing port security.

"When a risk of drug trafficking is perceived, measures to highlight potential dangers, recommended precautions and counter measures should form part of the formal training and education programmes given to all relevant personnel. A poorly secured port, cargo facility or ship is more likely to be targeted than one that is obviously protected. In other words, traffickers may be deterred by visible security arrangements. To stay in the game therefore, port authorities and other operating companies need to review current security arrangements including training at each port, and to make assessments based on the best information available and best maritime practices on an ongoing basis.

The four-day course is taking place at the Rex St. Lucian Hotel and is the fifth of its kind conducted for the region and the second in the OECS.

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