MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Penguin News update.

Headlines:
Work underway on £80k security zone; FIG to appeal latest Forbes court ruling; Listeria found in dairy milk; LegCo meets today.

Work underway on £80k security zone.

WORK on a costly secure area at the Public Jetty, required under the International Convention on Safety of Life at Sea, has begun. The works started on Monday with the contractor, Ian Stewart Construction Ltd, carrying out concrete repair work on the southern section of the Public Jetty. Marine Officer, Mr Jon Clark, said the new buildings in the secure area will include a sheltered waiting area and a security building, with further shelter for passengers after screening while awaiting ships' tenders. The security building will be where cruise ship passengers are screened and will contain an archway metal detector and search area. A pair of gates will restrict access past the buildings and a short length of fencing will prevent access over the Jetty guardrails. The work is expected to cost a little over £80,000. Additional security measures will be in place at FIPASS, such as restricted zones around cruise vessels and the screening of embarking passengers during passenger exchanges. Mr. Clark said, "The Public Jetty will be a restricted area on those days when it is in use for returning passengers to cruise vessels." The new security has become necessary since the International Convention on Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) has been applied to the Falkland Islands. Mr. Clark explained, "The new Chapter XI-2 of SOLAS and its associated International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code contain certain security provisions which must be complied with by port facilities which interface with vessels over 500 gross tonnage (with a few exceptions) on international voyages." He said that vessels making international voyages are required to maintain a record of their last ten ports of call. "A visit to a non-compliant port may lead to delays in future ports of call. There is therefore a strong possibility that non-compliant ports may be avoided, leading to loss of trade." The works are expected to be finished by late October, prior to the arrival of the first cruise ship in early November. Mr. Clark said, "The ISPS Code came into force on July 1, 2004. The Falkland Islands were notified to the International Maritime Organisation by the UK Department for Transport as being compliant by this date, ie security plans were approved and in place." At the public meeting on Tuesday evening, a member of the public complained that South Georgia was not obligated to meet the same security requirements for cruise ship visits. Mr. Clark explained that South Georgia is not a signatory to SOLAS. He added that a risk assessment of the facilities there had indicated, "...ships could maintain their own security as any risk is minimal.

FIG to appeal latest Forbes court ruling.

THE government is to appeal the latest court decision in its proceedings against Gordon Forbes Construction (Falklands) Ltd. At its meeting held yesterday morning, Executive Council considered the final award of the arbitrator in the arbitration proceedings between Gordon Forbes Construction (Falklands) Limited and the Falkland Islands Government. The arbitrator's decision in favour of Gordon Forbes was announced on July 20. A government spokesperson said Executive Council noted that the arbitration had been long and complex involving claims totalling over £3,000,000 and that, "...the Falkland Islands Government had succeeded in relation to the greater part of the monies in dispute and in relation to a large number of the items of Claim." He continued, "It noted that the arbitrator had ordered the government to pay a total of £420,047.09, excluding interest and costs, the greater part of which (being £384,427) related to an Extension of Time Claim pitched by Gordon Forbes Construction at £1,029,165. There had been also an award to Gordon Forbes Construction of £103,140.34, part of the retention money. "The Falkland Islands Government had been awarded £135,990 liquidated damages for delay in performance of the contract." Executive Council also considered advice from counsel as to whether the Falkland Islands Government should challenge the Final Award. The spokesperson said, "The advice suggested that the arbitrator's award contains a number of fundamental errors and mistakes which give rise to strong arguments for setting it aside in whole or in part and that analysis of the costs, risks and potential benefit of a challenge suggest clearly that one ought to be made, as being wholly cost effective if successful." The spokesperson said Executive Council has accepted the advice that the arbitrator's award should be challenged and the Falkland Islands Government, "... will accordingly be lodging appropriate proceedings in the Supreme Court in due course."

Listeria found in dairy milk.

ROUTINE testing of milk from Stanley Dairy has revealed the presence of listeria in the milk, but the Chief Medical Officer says most people are not at risk. Listeria is harmless to most adults but can however cause serious illness in the very young, the elderly and in pregnancy and to those whose immunity is poor for any reason such as cancer or chemotherapy. Therefore the Chief Medical Officer, Dr Roger Diggle, recommends that the milk, "...should be boiled for three minutes before drinking if the under five's, the over 65's or pregnant women are going to drink the milk." He added, "Patients with significantly reduced immunity are advised to avoid drinking this milk until the laboratory has confirmed the absence of listeria in the milk for three successive weekly samples." Dr Diggle says that healthy adults have nothing to worry about. "Listeria is also often present in soft cheeses such as Brie and Camembert." Dr Diggle said the risks of becoming infected are "very small" as the milk from Stanley Dairy is tested on a weekly basis and this is the first case of listeria since 1999. "This has probably been caused by the dairy cattle eating silage, in which listeria can grow. "The silage is treated with an agent to inhibit the growth of listeria." Dr Diggle has advised the operators of the dairy and the General Manager of Falklands Landholdings (the Dairy's owners) to check that the silage has been properly treated with the inhibitor, "...so that we can assess whether there are any more measures that can or need to be taken to minimise the chances of listeria recurring again."

LegCo meets today.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL will hold its latest meeting this morning at 10.30am. A number of questions will be asked during the meeting including one from Councillor John Birmingham. He will ask Councillor Richard Cockwell to assure him, "...the £50,000 allocated from central government towards the Goose Green Development project will be used for non-agricultural purposes."