Twenty-five security professionals operating in the Caribbean maritime sector were last week trained and certified under the International Maritime Organisation's (IMO) port facility security officers (PFSO) certification programme, a course offered by local security company, Security Administrators Limited (SAL). The programme, which is designed to develop the competencies and skills of persons performing the duties of port facility security officers, attracted participants from Antigua and Barbuda, St Kitts and Nevis, St Maarten, Curaçao, Guyana, Grenada, Dominica andJamaica.

Training important

Speaking at its opening ceremony last Wednesday at the Courtleigh Hotel and Suites, Grantley Stephenson, chairman and chief executive officer of Kingston Wharves Limited (KWL), noted that the training course was timely and important to the industry especially in this time of recession when maritime interests have to be on the alert for pilfering and fraud.

"We have to be on the forefront of technology and be aware of what is happening, and the constant training of our security personnel is the answer," Stephenson said, adding that increased knowledge will lead to a better performance of the duties of these security personnel.

Agatha Dublin, general manager of the Antigua and Barbuda Port Authority concurred with Stephenson, noting that the PFSO course will raise the proficiency level of the Caribbean region. Pointing out that the next major security threat could be through the maritime sector, she commen-ded SAL for taking on the initiative to offer the PFSO course.

"The success of the region lies in each country playing its part in achieving the collective goal of maintaining the region's viability in a competitive environment," Dublin said.

Clive Forbes, general manager of the Caribbean Shipping Association (CSA) pledged the CSA's continued support to SAL, noting that the role of the CSA is to push for integration and help the region equip itself in the area of maritime security.

"Our job at CSA is to equip countries in the Caribbean with the tools to implement maritime security policies," Forbes said. He commended SAL for setting the pace in the area of maritime security. The programme covered all the requirements for certification by the IMO Model Course 3.21 'Port Facility Security Officer'. It was conducted over a three-day period and included training material on how to perform a port facility security assessment as well as prepare a port facility security plan. The material covered outlined relationships with ship security officers and company security officers as defined in Section A/2.1.8 and Section A/17 of the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code.

Lecturers for the programme were Grantley Stephenson, Linval Bailey, deputy commissioner of police; Captain John Ulett, IMO trainer and managing director of SAL; Agatha Dublin, Fritz Pinnock, executive director of the Caribbean Maritime institute and Valrie Campbell, manager, safety, security and claims at KWL. The successful participants were offered credits towards the Bachelor of Science degree in security administration and management offered at the Caribbean Maritime Institute.