MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Majority of Antarctica operators stop off in the Falklands

Cruise at Grytviken, South Georgia <br>Photo courtesy J. Fowler

THE annual International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) conference was held in Punta Del Este, Uruguay this year.

IAATO was formed in 1991 by seven tour operators and now has 85 members who are resolved to maintaining high standards in order to protect Antarctica. The conference was a week long and many issues, reports and challenges were discussed. This season has been particularly challenging with several incidents occurring, including the loss of the MS Explorer- this was not discussed in depth at the meeting as it is still under investigation. "It was a very useful conference to attend," said Sammy Marsh, Sulivan Shipping's Tourism Coordinator. "The majority of operators going to Antarctica are stopping off in the Falklands, so it was an opportunity to meet with these operators and to stay up to date with environmental policy in Antarctica." Also representing the Islands at the meeting were Jake Downing, General Manager of the Falkland Islands Tourist Board (FITB), Toni Gilson-Clarke from the Falkland Islands Company, and yacht operators Dion Poncet from Golden Fleece Expeditions based on Beaver Island and Marie Paul Guillaumot (owner of Le Sourire) from Dunbar. Richard McKee gave the South Georgia Government's annual presentation, updating IAATO members on the island's tourism policy issues for the coming season. He commented: "Given the environmentally sensitive nature of the visitor landings on South Georgia, Government gives preferential treatment to IAATO company member vessels as we recognise that by joining this voluntary organisation they have publicly committed themselves to meeting high operational standards. "Cruise ships which are not members of IAATO are only permitted to land passengers at Grytviken (and this will soon include all commercial passenger vessels including yachts)." Richard said the meeting was also always an excellent opportunity for IAATO members to consult South Georgia Government directly about any application concerns or any other queries in general. "It is also an opportunity for South Georgia Government to raise any concerns arising from the previous season." He said that his presentation covered the recently revised South Georgia Visitor Management Policy, which has been drafted as part of the South Georgia Government's ongoing legislative review. He commented: "In very general terms the new policy continues to support IAATO vessels and will not affect greatly the majority of medium to small 'Expedition Cruise' ships (max 200 passengers). However in light of environmental and safety issues, visit permits to South Georgia will no longer be issued for larger vessels carrying more than 500 passengers. "Similarly, following concerns about the numbers of large private vessels now cruising in the southern oceans (some of which resemble small cruise ships), South Georgia Government has also introduced measures to restrict landings made on South Georgia by some large private vessels unless they have embarked a government-approved observer. It was also drawn to member's attention that the issue of the future carriage and burning of intermediate bunker fuels remains under review as does the policy on vessel pairing." He added: "In recent years there has been a dramatic increase in visitor numbers to South Georgia (125% over five years) and IAATO members were briefed about the new South Georgia site visitor management plans, which will be mandatory for all vessels in the coming seasons. Biosecurity was also covered and members were thanked for successfully implementing last season's major biosecurity review in such an attentive and proactive manner." The meeting was the last for Denise Landau, the outgoing Executive Director of IAATO, and Richard was among the many delegates who thanked her for her work over many years. Penguin News