It's smooth sailing for Jamaica under a little-known 20-year-old United States Coast Guard programme called Quality Shipping for the 21st Century (QUALSHIP 21), which identifies high-quality ships from different countries and provides incentives, such as certificates, to encourage quality operations.

At the rate Jamaica is going the country stands to earn good money from other nations hoping to get high marks from the US programme by sailing under Jamaican registry.

Minister of Transport and Mining, Hon. Robert Montague, says the Maritime Authority of Jamaica (MAJ) is “on the last lap” of privatisation of the country’s Ship Registry.

“We continue to work with the Development Bank and the Enterprise Team to achieve this,” he said, while making his contribution to the 2021/22 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on May 26.

Transport and Mining Minister, Hon. Robert Montague, remains confident that Jamaica will be successful in regaining a seat on the 40-member Council of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) for the 2022-2023 biennium.

“We will again return to the polls in early December of this year to regain our place on the IMO Council, allowing us to continue advocating for the development of uniform standards for international shipping, while advancing the issues of the Caribbean region, small island developing states (SIDS), and Least Developed Countries,” he said.

Transport and Mining Minister, Hon. Robert Montague, says Jamaica is making progress in its quest towards becoming a leading maritime state.

He said this is occurring against the backdrop of “careful observation of international standards, [and] protection and preservation of the country’s natural environment”.

“We must ensure that shipping activities in our entire marine space and for our flagships sailing internationally are in compliance with the IMO’s international regulations for safety and security as well as the prevention of marine pollution, including air emissions by ships,” the Minister stated.

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator the Hon. Kamina Johnson Smith has paid tribute to the Director-General of the Maritime Authority of Jamaica (MAJ), Rear Admiral Peter Brady, for giving Small Island Developing States (SIDS) a voice in the international maritime arena.