Officials of the AES Corporation have failed to put in place measures at Ocean Cay, near Bimini, to meet an international deadline for seaports to upgrade security, according to Port Department officials.
Becoming fully compliant could be even more crucial for AES, which is seeking the governmentﾴs permission to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant on the cay, located near Bimini.
Port Controller Captain Anthony Allens on Thursday expressed concern that the Ocean Cay seaport missed the July 1 deadline set by the International Maritime Organization in December 2002.
“We are very concerned,” Captain Allens said.
“This essentially means that any shipping that is conducted at the cay will be hindered when they leave their port facility. They would be subject to increased scrutiny which is particularly the case if they were to travel to the United States. What it means is that they will be frustrated by the Coast Guard coming onboard conducting their checks ensuring that the vessel is indeed compliant.”
Minister of Transport and Aviation Glenys Hanna-Martin revealed in the House of Assembly Wednesday that 21 of the 22 seaports in the country are fully compliant with the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code.
According to ISPS Coordinator, Lieutenant Commander Herbert Bain, principals of Ocean Cay have assured the Port Department that they are making some headway in becoming compliant with the international security measures.
“They have already identified the Recognised Security Organization (RSO) which is going to do their threat vulnerability assessment and plan and they are moving forward with that,” Mr. Bain said. “This is a very positive step and hopefully in short order, Ocean Cay will in fact be compliant and they should not experience too much disruption to their day-to-day operations.”
Ocean Cay is the site of an aragonite mining plant, also operated by AES.
Twelve of the 22 shipping port facilities in the country are located in New Providence; seven in Grand Bahama and one port each in Abaco, Inagua and Ocean Cay.
But there are a number of facilities throughout the Family Islands that occasionally accommodate ships, an arrangement that also requires some level of ISPS compliance.
According to the Minister, this necessitates the need for such ports to provide enhanced security measures that would satisfy the needs of ships.
In such cases, a Declaration of Security (DoS) would have to be signed, obligating both ship and port facility to certain agreed measures.
The result of this is that there must be suitably trained individuals throughout the islands, who will act as Port Facility Security Officers (PFSO) to ensure the agreed measures are in fact implemented, the Minister said.
ﾓLocal administrators and or some senior representative have been identified to receive the required training to be able to perform these functions,ﾒ she added.
ﾓThe first in a series of training for these individuals has been completed and administrators in North and South Eleuthera, George Town, Exuma; Cat Island and Andros have received training which permits them to now function as PFSOs in their respective communities, until suitably trained security personnel can be appointed.”
Part of the required access control measure, a Port Department I.D. card system, was implemented in early June for all persons working inside the Prince George Wharf port area, including those stationed at Festival Place, the welcome and shopping centre.
To date, the government has spent approximately $775,000 addressing the wide scope of maritime security issues in The Bahamas, according to Minister Hanna-Martin.
The Minister said this includes the payment of consultancy fees and training, the purchase of security-related equipment, electrical works, the provision of lighting, signage, fencing, CCTV systems, asphalt work, the issuance of ID cards and the payment of staff overtime costs and inspection related travel.
There are still additional costs to be paid.
“The government has proven that it takes very seriously the issue of port security,” Minister Hanna-Martin said.
“This issue transcends national borders and requires regional and international collaboration. Although most Bahamian registered ships and port facilities within this jurisdiction are virtually unencumbered by terrorist acts and crimes, we, however, are not immune. The risk involved is much too highﾅ Reducing vulnerabilities at Bahamian ports makes the country a less likely target and creates favourable conditions for continued growth in the maritime sector, and consequently, the Bahamian economy.ﾒ
Authorities have said that the new security measures are crucial to preventing terrorist attacks at ports, as well as to combating drugs and weapons smuggling, the smuggling of human cargo, theft and other disruptions to maritime trade.
ﾓThe certification of ports by the Port Department provides verification that vulnerability assessments have been completed and that security plans have been formulated,ﾒ Minister Hanna-Martin said.
ﾓIt also proves that verification exercises have been conducted to ensure that the physical and procedural measures are in place as laid out in the plans.ﾒ
Macushla N. Pinder, The Bahamas Journal
