The Tribune

A Cabinet minister led the Bahamian delegation to this week’s International Maritime Organisation (IMO) organised meeting of senior Caribbean policymakers and officials.

Renward R Wells, minister of transport and local government, led the group to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) symposium (HLS) for Caribbean ministers of transport.

The ministerial symposium was preceded by a meeting of Caribbean senior maritime administrators, which was attended by representatives from 18 CARICOM member states and six observer states.

The Bahamas’ delegation comprised Captain Dwain Hutchinson, the Bahamas Maritime Authority’s (BMA) acting managing director and chief executive; Katie Clarke, the BMA’s Nassau branch manager; and Commander Raymond King, acting port controller.

The meeting’s theme was Maritime transportation: Harnessing the Blue Economy for the sustainable development of the Caribbean. The ministerial symposium was to update policymakers on challenges Caribbean countries face in preserving the marine environment, and strategies to help them meet their IMO obligations to protect it as well as liability and compensation instruments.

The IMO secretary-general, Kitack Lim, highlighted the organisation’s commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), especially the 14th - “Life below the waters - conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development”.

Delegates were also reminded that the Blue Economy extended beyond maritime transport, as its economic benefit and environmental impact also affects tourism, fisheries and agriculture.

The meeting adopted a resolution reaffirming the Caribbean ministers’ commitment to regional support and co-operation that accounts for the Blue Economy when assessing the long term sustainability of the Caribbean Sea.