New agency whose time has come

If ever an organization’s time has come, then surely it is this year’s creation of the Caribbean Marine Environment Protection Agency (Caribmepa). 

Probably long overdue and much needed – especially as environmental issues continue to move center stage and as a green spotlight is being shone with greater intensity on the shipping industry – Caribmepa appears to be a small but significant regional step in the right direction.

There are a few people to thank for getting the still fledgling Caribmepa organization off the ground with the agency’s origin story going something like this…

In September 2016 the Women in Maritime Association – Caribbean (WiMAC) held its first-ever conference at the Grand Cayman Marriott Beach Resort and to which Colin Young was invited. Mr Young is the International Maritime Organization (IMO) representative to the Caribbean. In his presentation, he pointed out that while 86 per cent of Caribbean nations had ratified Marpol only 25 per cent had actually implemented the convention.

By coincidence, Carleen Lyden Walker, who is the co-founder/executive director of the North American Marine Environment Protection Association (Namepa) was also a speaker at the same conference and learned of this situation.

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