EDITORIAL
No. 4 I May-Aug 2008
The official journal of the Caribbean Shipping Association caribbean shipping association MISSION STATEMENT
“To promote and foster the highest quality service to the maritime industry through training development; working with all agencies, groups and other associations for the benefit and development of its members and the peoples of the Caribbean region.” GENERAL COUNCIL 2007-2008 President: Fernando Rivera Vice President: Carlos Urriola Immediate Past President: Corah-Ann Robertson Sylvester Group A Chairman: Robert Foster Group A Representative: Michael Bernard Group A Representative: Ian Deosaran Group A Representative: Francis Camacho Group B Chairman: Grantley Stephenson Group B Representative: David Jean-Marie Group C Chairman: Johan Bjorksten Group C Representative: Cyril Seyjagat General Manager: Stephen Bell Director Information and Public Relations: Michael S.l. Jarrett Caribbean Shipping Association 4 Fourth Avenue, Newport West, PO Box 1050, Kingston C.S.O, Jamaica Tel: +876 923-3491 Fax: +876 757-1592 Email: csa@cwjamaica.com www.caribbeanshipping.org EDITOR Mike Jarrett Email: csa-pr@mikejarrett.net PUBLISHER:
land&MARINE Land & Marine Publications Ltd 1 Kings Court, Newcomen Way, Severalls Business Park, Colchester Essex, CO4 9RA, UK Tel: +44 (0)1206 752902 Fax: +44 (0)1206 842958 Email: publishing@landmarine.com www.landmarine.com
The weakest link W
hen proverbs degenerate to cliché, we risk losing the collective wisdom of our forebears. You may consider this an odd, even melodramatic way to start, until you too are faced with having to apply or recite an old truism that has, over time, lost its deeper meaning through overuse. By moving to assist the Caribbean’s smaller ports with sustaining an impregnable port security system, the Caribbean Shipping Association has demonstrated an appreciation for age-old wisdom: “A chain is only as strong as its weakest link”. Overuse may have robbed this proverb of some of its profundity. So I invite you to ponder anew. The proverb implies that the chain is relatively strong to begin with and that the weakest link renders the entire chain weak. Deduce, therefore, that the weakest link makes it impossible for the chain to achieve its full potential. Following on our new-found appreciation for the frightening possibilities of terrorism, as demonstrated on 11 September 2001, we should approach port security as a world system rather than local initiative. In this respect, port security may therefore be likened to a chain: designed to restrain and control; and, comprising separate but linked components (i.e. ports and terminals). Where one such component is weak, the port security system in every port with which it has a sea link is exposed and open to threat. It is the direct link, ships connecting ports, that justifies the “chain” analogy. Marine terminals of the world, although separated by space and governance, must be linked in a seamless, global security system that protects not only human life and property but which preserves lines of trade. It is in this context that the CSA wants to strengthen the weakest links and has been discussing how it can support ports of the Region to achieve and sustain a viable port security system. These discussions within the CSA have only just begun and CSA President Fernando Rivera has been having exploratory discussions with a number of agencies and organizations. To be clear, the CSA is not about to develop and implement security systems. Rather, the CSA, in recognising the need for an impregnable port security system across the entire Caribbean area, has become proactive. In this regard, the Association is concerned that: • Caribbean ports and terminals should have appropriately designed, frequently audited and tested port security systems; • Caribbean ports and terminals should have timely access to the latest information and decisions regarding port security regulations recently enacted or being discussed for enactment; • Regional ports and terminals should have access to relevant information and intelligence that will help prevent security risks and breaches; • Regional ports should have a forum in the CSA in which to address issues and work out solutions for sustaining an impregnable Regional port security system. The CSA sees this as part of its continuing work of assisting Caribbean development and this fundamental principle, that is, supporting and facilitating Regional development, was reaffirmed at the CSA General Council’s strategic planning retreat, held in March 2008 in Miami, Florida.
Mike Jarrett, Editor
CARIBBEAN MARITIME I MAY - AUGUST 2008