The Caribbean Shipping Association (CSA) is currently on target with preparations for its upcoming Caribbean Shipping Executives Conference, scheduled to take place in St. Lucia from May 25 to 26, 2004.
St. Lucian Prime Minister, Dr. Kenny D. Anthony, has been invited to officially open the conference, which is to be held at the Bay Gardens Hotel in Castries and is expected to involve more than 100 private and public sector maritime executives.
As the region prepares to meet requirements for new international security regulations, the meeting will specifically address the International Ship and Port Facility (ISPS) Code, Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), Caribbean Single Market Economy (CSME) as well as Bioterrorism.
The CSA Secretariat, based at the Shipping Association of Jamaica's head office in Newport West Kingston, has indicated that registration is going well and persons are being encouraged to register before the May 14, 2004 deadline and not wait for the last minute.
Resource persons will be drawn from the CARICOM Secretariat in Guyana, the International Maritime Organisation Regional Office, as the Caribbean Single Market and Economy Office, Lloyd's Register and the United States Customs.
Participants are expected from Antigua, The Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Curacao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, French Guyana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Panama, Puerto Rico, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, St. Vincent, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, United States of America and Venezuela. Other participants include representatives of shipping lines and equipment suppliers, which serve the Caribbean.
Further information can be obtained from the CSA website www.caribbeanshipping.org
