MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Falklands represented at Red Ensign Group Annual Conference
Falkland Islands Government Marine Officer, Jon Clark, returned this week from the annual Red Ensign Group Conference, held at the Grotto Bay Hotel in Bermuda.
This conference for U.K. dependent territories ? including Bermuda ? and crown dependencies took place last year in the Falkland Islands, for the first time. Other countries represented include the Caymans, Gibraltar, Isle of Man, the United Kingdom, Anguilla, Guernsey and the Turks and Caicos.
The conference, which was opened by Bermuda's Government Senator, Walter Roban, provides a forum for "delegates to discuss policies and technical issues relating to current international rule making, maritime legislation, marine safety, pollution prevention, and the welfare of seafarers both for ships registered under the Red Ensign flags and for ships under other flags that visit the ports of members," according to a press statement. According to Mr.Clark, who is the Falkland Islands Government officer with prime responsibility for maritime affairs, the Bermudan discussions contained "nothing particularly contentious" but were very useful in helping participants keep up with current international trends.
Mr. Clark explained that the UK Government's Secretary of State for Transport delegates authority to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) to ensure that ships belonging to registers of the Red Ensign Group comply with conventions and are operated in accordance with UK Government policy.
Discussion as to the implications for the overseas territories of conventions that the UK government is about to ratify formed the core of the business of the Red Ensign Group's Conference, said Mr.Clark.
Of particular relevance to the Falkland Islands situation had been discussions on the application of Annexes 4 & 6 of the Marpol Convention on the avoidance of marine pollution. These annexes deal respectively with pollution from ships' sewage and the reduction of noxious emissions.
Mr. Clark said that much discussion at the conference had also centred around the ILO Maritime Labour Convention 2006, adopted by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in February 2006 and not expected to come into force until one year after it has been ratified by all thirty member countries with tonnage representing 33% of the world's fleet.
The ILO Maritime Labour Convention 2006 attempts to pull together in one document the requirements of a number of previously existing conventions relating to the welfare of merchant seamen.
The Red Ensign Group's 2007 Annual Conference is due to be held in Guernsey.
John Fowler (Mercopress) Stanley
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