Maritime Authority of Jamaica Lays Foundation for Local Shipping Growth

The Maritime Authority of Jamaica (MAJ) is undertaking the requisite work to create an enabling environment for the development of shipping locally.

This is being pursued through the enactment of legislation and the expansion of service provisions for the industry.

Director General, Bertrand Smith, informs JIS News that the Authority is laying the groundwork for legislation enabling the Government to implement International Maritime Organization (IMO) Instruments.

These regulations will enhance shipping safety, maritime security, environmental protection and the facilitation of shipping in Jamaica.

Mr. Smith says the MAJ is also carrying out the necessary supplementary activities as it executes its regulatory function.

“In ensuring that Jamaica is in a position to properly implement these IMO Conventions, it is important that we train staff to ensure that we continue to have a professional, competent and motivated staff complement. It is also important to ensure that we have strong partnerships with the shipping industry, not only with the other regulators but also with the ship operators,” he adds.

The Director General points out that the MAJ regulates several segments of the shipping industry.

“At the local level, we have our recreational boating sector, water sports sector, fishing sector and local commercial sector, which includes operators engaged in bunkering, commercial fishing, towage or tug services, the carriage of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and anything from cable laying to dredging, which are more ad hoc,” he outlines.

Mr. Smith highlighted that commercial shipping in Jamaican waters is known as “local trade in Jamaican waters”.

As such, he emphasised the importance of establishing a regulatory framework that not only ensures compliance with international standards but also fosters a competitive maritime sector.

“To this end, we want to ensure that while we are regulating, we are also creating an enabling environment for these important services to operate competitively” the Director General states. Mr. Smith says the MAJ’s other main function is the development of the maritime industry, noting that work is also ongoing in this area, with one such engagement being the registration of ships.

The Authority, through the Jamaica Ship Registry, will register all eligible ships for any qualified owner applying for registration, provided the application meets the requirements of the Shipping Act of 1998, which establishes the facilitatory framework.

Mr. Smith points out that there are Jamaican ships operating globally, outside of the island’s territorial waters in two main segments.

“We have commercial ships and we have our mega yachts. We want to grow the tonnage or the number of ships on both registers, so we’ll be embarking on a strategy to grow both the commercial and the mega yacht registries” he shares.

Mr. Smith explains that the MAJ established itself as an international ship registry, which allows non-nationals to own and register ships flying the flag of that country.

“So, we embarked on this project to establish Jamaica as an international ship registry, which involved engaging shipowners from all over the world as well as their bankers and their attorneys.

“We started with an anchor shipowner in Greece and we were registering ships and mortgages at all hours of the day and night. I would attend on the registry at two in the morning local time because a closing was taking place in Singapore,” he informs.

He further emphasises the importance of ensuring that, once the sale and purchase transaction is finalised, the team is readily available to assist with registering the ship for the new purchaser/owner and facilitate the bank in registering the mortgage.

“So we have been a 24-hour registry, which means we are on call at any hour of the day, whether to register ships or to deal with a Jamaican ship that may have been detained or involved in a casualty or other issues in relation to the ship,” the Director General points out.

Mr. Smith points out that there are multiple ship registries in operation globally, adding that in order for the Jamaican registry to be competitive, “you must be in a position to respond to the needs of the shipowner, his bankers and his attorneys competently and quickly, irrespective of the time zone difference”.

He highlights that registering a ship in Jamaica presents several advantages, including competitive fees and the country’s status as an English Common Law jurisdiction.

This legal framework is widely recognised by the shipping industry and their banks, ensuring familiarity and trust.

“This means the banks have the confidence of registering their mortgages with Jamaica, based on the law that we apply and the security of the mortgage, and also the ability to enforce that mortgage easily,” Mr. Smith explains.

He tells JIS News that Jamaica has ratified and/or acceded to all the major international Conventions relating to shipping regulation.

“Our client/owners can, therefore, be assured that when their ship flies the Jamaican flag, it is adhering to all of the international standards” Mr Smith states.

“We also have a network of representatives globally who can service the needs of the client. As you can imagine, Jamaica has good relationships with practically all states, because a Jamaican ship can call at any port in the world without having any complications with the ports. So there are a number of advantages to flying the Jamaican flag – legal and/or economic,” he adds.

Mr. Smith explains the critical connection between a ship’s country of registry and the shipowners’ bankers, emphasising the significance of this relationship in facilitating smooth operations and financial trust.

“Most commercial ships are financed, based on the cost, which can go as high as hundreds of millions and in the case of cruise ships, in the billions, so shipowners need banks to finance the purchase of the ships and banks need security for their loans. Our law, which is English common law, allows for what is called ‘marine’ which ensures that the bank does not have to use the land-based assets of the shipowner,” he informs.

Mr. Smith also highlights that Jamaica is in the process of developing its first maritime cluster.

This initiative is aimed at enhancing the nation’s maritime industry and fostering economic growth.

“We are promoting the shipping hub concept, where we want to expand the cluster of services that can be provided to ships that call at Jamaican ports and ships that operate in Jamaican waters. So we’ll be continuing to ensure that we have that same enabling framework and regulatory framework for activities such as bunkering and dry-docking,” the Director General indicates.

Mr. Smith emphasises that these services have the potential to employ a substantial number of skilled individuals and generate significant revenue.

By providing services to ships and positioning Jamaica as an attractive destination, the development of the maritime cluster is expected to bring substantial benefits to the country.