An estimated 2,000 litres of heavy crude oil had flowed into the sea at Gordon Cay.

The ship should have left the Port of Kingston on Friday but has been prevented from doing so.

Director of the Environmental Management and Conservation Division at National Environment and Planning Agency, Anthony McKenzie, told The Gleaner on Sunday that the agency took out an enforcement order against the ship and its local agent Perez y Cia Jamaica, barring the vessel from leaving port until the full cleanup costs have been determined.

Jamaica has provided greater protection for persons working in the hospitality division of passenger ships, such as bartenders, stewards and nail technicians, under the Shipping (Amendment) Act.

The legislation, which has been passed in both Houses of Parliament, has been amended to expand the definition of seafarers to include these categories of workers.

Jamaica joins the rest of the world in observing the 10^th anniversary of the Day of the Seafarer, which is observed globally on June 25.

Speaking at a JIS ‘Think Tank’, on Thursday, June 24, Dean of the Faculty of Marine and Nautical Studies at the Caribbean Maritime University (CMU), Captain Devron Newman, explained that a number of activities will be held to mark the occasion.

Captain Newman, who is Chairman of the Day of the Seafarer Planning Committee said that a virtual panel discussion will be held on June 25 under the theme ‘Partnership and Collaboration, the Future of Seafaring’.

The serious dedication needed by seafarers operating a modern merchant ship as it travels the globe delivering world trade is reflected in the findings of a new survey conducted by the Maritime Authority of Jamaica (MAJ) as part of its activities in support of this week’s Day of the Seafarer (June 25).

Merchant seafarers have chosen a dangerous occupation in which they are exposed to risks in a combination rarely encountered in other occupations.

• Detlef Nielsen, “Deaths at sea - a study of fatalities on board Hong Kong-registered merchant ships (1986–95)”