PORT SECURITY, a critical issue for the Caribbean following terrorist attacks on Washington and New York in 2001, will be brought under the microscope at the Caribbean Shipping Association's (CSA) 32nd Annual Conference, to be held at Madiana Conference Centre, Fort-de-France, Martinique from October 21-23, 2002.
With radical moves by the United States government to protect its ports from possible attacks and the effects these initiatives could have on the Region's shipping industry, the CSA has moved discussions on port security to the top of its agenda. Caribbean countries will now need to upgrade and in some instances completely reorganise their entire approach to port security, otherwise ships visiting their sea ports may not be allowed to call at US ports.
The CSA will address these issues and implications in Martinique. A technical paper entitled "Port Security: New Implications for Port Certification", to be delivered on the second day of the conference, will bring into sharp focus, the specifics of port certification and what is now required of Regional ports.
The second day of the conference will look at the tourism and the cruise industry, one of the pillars of Caribbean economies. The topic "Cruise Shipping: Current Realities, Concerns, Opportunities", which will be discussed on Tuesday October 22, presenting the thoughts and perspectives of representatives from some of the major cruise lines serving the Region as well as their Agents in the Caribbean.
The panel discussion "Development of Caribbean Shipping: (1) Trade and Port facilities; (2) The Specific Needs of Lines Trading In The Region" will have CSA delegates from across the wider Caribbean and representatives of some of the major shipping lines serving the Region reviewing and analysing 'nut and bolts' aspects of Regional shipping. In these discussions, delegates from across the entire Caribbean Region will participate in a process which will ultimately benefit every country in the Caribbean and the shipping industry which supports its national economy.
The state of shipping in Martinique and prospects and possibilities for future development are also to be discussed The review of Martinique's shipping industry, on the second morning of the conference, will take place in a panel discussion, involving all groups of the CSA. The discussion topic is: "Maritime Transportation As It Affects Industrial Development And Prospects For The Future". Speakers will include representatives from the Martinique Exporters Association, the Martinique Manufacturers Association and the Martinique Chamber of Commerce.
The CSA's Martinique meeting will also feature a business exposition involving a number of companies supplying goods and services to the Caribbean Shipping Industry. The exposition, Shipping Insight 2003, to be held at Madiana, will be officially opened on October 20 and will run for the duration of the Conference.
More than 160 delegates and spouses have registered for the CSA 32nd Annual General Meeting, Conference and Exhibition. The Martinique meeting will be dedicated to the memory of CSA's late Executive Vice President, Monica Silvera, who died on June 1, 2002.
