Senior maritime administrators in the Caribbean have had the chance to network and bring themselves up to speed with the latest IMO regulatory developments, during a recent IMO-led regional workshop for senior maritime administrators, held in Castries, St. Lucia (5-6 March).

Participants received detailed information about activities organized under IMO's Integrated Technical Cooperation Programme (ITCP) aimed at building capacity in the region to comply with international rules and standards related to maritime safety and the prevention of maritime pollution. Participants had a chance to ask questions on the outcomes of many IMO meetings of special interest to their region and were updated on knowledge partnerships and ongoing major projects, as well as the  IMO Member State Audit Scheme. They also heard about the latest work of the Regional Marine Pollution Emergency, Information and Training Centre – Caribe (RAC/REMPEITC-Caribe), the Maritime Technology Cooperation Centre for the Caribbean (MTCC Caribbean), the Caribbean Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control (CMoU), the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat (in the context of maritime transport) and the Women in Maritime Association Caribbean (WiMAC).

The workshop was hosted by the Saint Lucia Air and Sea Ports Authority (SLASPA). Participants attended from: Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago; and the territories/regions of Anguilla (United Kingdom), Bermuda (United Kingdom), British Virgin Islands (United Kingdom), the Cayman Islands (United Kingdom), Curaçao (Netherlands), Martinique (France), Montserrat (United Kingdom), Sint Eustatius (Netherlands), Sint Maarten (Netherlands) and Turks and Caicos Island.