Jamaica’s Maritime Security Capabilities Bolstered
By: , October 6, 2022
Photo: Dave Reid
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator the Hon. Kamina Johnson Smith (second left), State Minister in the Ministry of National Security, Hon. Zavia Mayne (third left), and Japan’s Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Masatoshi Akimoto (left), prepare for a ride aboard the Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat, which has been donated to Jamaica under the Government of Japan’s Grant Aid Programme. Joining them are Ambassador of Japan to Jamaica, His Excellency Masaya Fujiwara (second right) and Police Commissioner, Major General Antony Anderson (foreground). The handover ceremony for the boat was held at the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) Marine Headquarters in Kingston, on Wednesday (October 5).
Photo: Dave Reid
State Minister in the Ministry of National Security, Hon. Zavia Mayne (second right), cuts the ribbon with Japan’s Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Masatoshi Akimoto (centre), during a handover ceremony of a Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat, at the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) Marine Headquarters in Kingston on Wednesday (October 5). Also participating in the exercise (from left) are Ambassador of Japan to Jamaica, His Excellency Masaya Fujiwara; Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator the Hon. Kamina Johnson Smith, and Police Commissioner, Major General Antony Anderson. The boat was provided under the Government of Japan’s Grant Aid Programme and is the first of six expected to be delivered.The Full Story
The country’s maritime security capabilities have been bolstered with the acquisition of a marine vessel for the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF).
The Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat was handed over by Japan’s Parliamentary Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, Masatoshi Akimoto, during a ceremony at the JCF’s Marine Headquarters in Kingston, on Wednesday (October 5).
The vessel is one of six being provided under the Government of Japan’s J$420-million Grant Aid Programme, for which an agreement was signed during a meeting between Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, and the Asian country’s late former Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, in December 2019.
Five Patrol Boats were also committed, and will be divided between the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) and the JCF. Three of these are expected to arrive by the end of January 2023.
Minister of State in the Ministry of National Security, Hon. Zavia Mayne, in expressing gratitude for the vessels, said the inflatable boat will help to boost resources of the JCF and JDF to effectively monitor Jamaica’s borders.
He said that as an island nation, Jamaica faces risks associated with transnational crimes such as drug and weapons trafficking.
“The Government continues to ensure and undertake significant measures to strengthen our efforts in coastal surveillance and protection, while enhancing our maritime security,” the State Minister added.
Mr. Mayne indicated that the Government has invested in a maritime patrol aircraft, new coastal surveillance equipment, and purchased two new vessels to enhance the JDF’s Coast Guard fleet in 2017.
“We are grateful for this partnership, as it is in keeping with the mandate of the Ministry of National Security to establish a safe and secure Jamaica, through effective law and public order,” he said.
Vice-Minister Akimoto, in his remarks, expressed the hope that “the implementation of this project will strengthen the security activities of the JCF, such as the detection of offshore criminal activity and rescue operations, in the event of water accidents”.
He assured that Japan remains committed to strengthening the partnership with Jamaica, with which Japan has shared diplomatic relations for 58 years.