New laws imminent for maritime sector-Former CCJ Judge completes review, hands over recommendations

Mar 28, 2019 News

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By Kiana Wilburg

Guyana’s maritime sector will be armed with a new set of laws and regulations that will enable it to have better oversight of the oil and gas sector. This was noted yesterday by Director General of the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD), Claudette Rogers.
She made this known during the opening ceremony of a conference that was organized by MARAD and local law firm, Hughes Fields and Stoby. The event which was held at the Marriott Hotel sought to give stakeholders a better understanding of what would be required of Guyana’s maritime administrators in the petroleum industry.
Present at the event were MARAD officials; Members of the Diplomatic Community; Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson; Telecommunications Minister, Cathy Hughes and several Maritime stakeholders from the Caribbean region.
Guest speakers at the event included Professor Eric Smith from the AB Freeman School of business at Tulane University; Rear Admiral James Olsen, Retired Admiral of the US Coast Guard with responsibility for Alsaka; Colin Young, Regional Advisor of the Caribbean International Maritime Organization; and Thomas Steigwald, Petroleum Consultant.
During her remarks, the Director General said that while MARAD has made significant strides in fulfilling its mandate over the last two decades, quite a lot still needs to be done to position the department to respond to the demands and challenges that would arise from the fledging oil and gas sector.
With this understanding in mind, the Director General said a consultant was retained to update the Maritime Legislation. She revealed this consultant to be the former Judge of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), Professor Duke Pollard.
The MARAD Director General said that Justice Pollard has since completed the legislative review and has submitted the requisite recommendations which would pave the way for the realization of a more robust system of maritime administration in Guyana.
Rogers said that the general perception of MARAD’s role is that it simply issues licenses with respect to seamen competencies, pilotage and carrying out inspections. However, Rogers clarified that the role of MARAD in safety and environment protection should not be convoluted or ignored given the rapid increase in marine traffic that is occasioned by the commencement of petroleum drilling in Guyana’s Exclusive Economic Zone(EEZ).
The Director General said it should be noted that although Guyana has ratified the main International Maritime conventions; the requisite regulations need to be enacted or put in place because the country follows the common law system. She said that the legal and administrative arrangements must be given currency if all of the desired goals and objectives of the country’s Maritime policy are to be achieved.
Rogers said that of course, the need for sectorial co-operation relative to the implementation of these policies cannot be over-emphasized.
Citing another key development, Rogers said that last year, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Member State Audit was completed. Contrary to some public pronouncements that Guyana had a bad report, Rogers clarified that the Maritime Administration’s performance was commendable.
She said that in preparation for this audit, a number of critical elements had to be addressed. The Director General said that these involved flag, port and coastal state administration.
The official said, “The reality is that MARAD is required to be in line with the demands of the International Maritime Organization. Therefore, the regulatory issue as well as the institutional, technical, environmental and socio-economic considerations must be aligned with established best practices.”
She continued, “As a direct result of the IMO Audit, several measures were necessary. These include the implementation of a total Quality Management System; a self-assessment based on global industry standards; and Engaging a recognized classification society to carry out surveys and inspections to vessels above 500 Gross registered tonnage (GRT) and to issue certificates on behalf of the Administration.”
Rogers added, “In this regard, it should be noted that based on internationally approved standards the Maritime Administration is responsible for the issuance of statutory certificates. However, this function may be delegated to a classification society where applicable to make such issuances on its behalf based on expediency.”
Further to this, Rogers said that MARAD was required to put in place, the requisite institutional arrangements and human resources to make the system efficient and relevant.
She said, too, that it was required to enact regulations to give full and complete effect to the conventions which Guyana has ratified. In this regard, she said, “For example, one of the observed limitations of MARAD was the fact that Guyana had not ratified the Standards of Training, Certification and Watch keeping (STCW) 95 Conventions and our local Maritime surveyors were issuing certificates based on this regime which was a significant breach of International Maritime laws.”
The Director General added that MARAD sought to correct this but there was resistance from those who embrace the old regime.

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