Business View Caribbean | April 2019

51 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN APRIL 2019 is receiving budgetary support from the U.K., so there’s only so much they can do. The Port Authority is self-supporting and is charged with raising its own revenue. But the likelihood of us raising rates, as we probably should, is slim because of our declining population. So, we can’t invest in capital expenditures as we’d like – it’s like putting more taxes on the few people who are here and can’t afford it. The demographics we have are more elderly and school age - not the middle-aged sector.” The value of relationships is essential to the Port Authority’s revival and growth. In that regard, O’Garro wishes to recognize “the ongoing support of our counterparts in PMAC (Port Management Association of the Caribbean). And Spark International has been a great partner for supplying hard-to-source mechanical parts for our equipment that is 15 to 20 years old.” Environmentally conscious, the Port Authority has changed to LED lighting and tinted its glass windows to reduce air conditioning costs. It is now in the process of switching to air-conditioning units with variable rate flow systems and exploring the use of solar panels for power. To address concerns with maritime pollution, oil spill response equipment, funded by the U.K. Conflict Stability and Security Fund (CSSF), has been procured and is in transit. Authority employees will also receive training to respond to oil spill situations that may occur in the Port. Many other positive projects are also in the works. O’Garro relates, “At this point, aggregate exports is a significant revenue stream and we are making further investments in that infrastructure to ensure we can conduct simultaneous loading of two barges. We are also improving safety and introducing more aids to navigation; new lighted marker buoys at our jetty are to being installed in the second quarter of 2019. Multi-beam sonar survey equipment is to be mounted on the MV Heliconia Star to provide the capability to conduct hydrographic surveys on as scheduled and as needed basis, so the profile around the port is well defined for safe navigation. We are also in the process of replacing our mission critical software. The new application integrates closely with the Customs systems, which allows manifests logged from importers with Customs, to be imported into our port cargo management system. The roll out of that new software is about 70 percent complete. During the first week of April, the Montserrat Maritime Administration of which the Port Authority is an integral part, hosted the annual conference of the Red Ensign Group (the U.K. ship registry) for the first time in its thirty plus year history. The REG conference began in 1988 as an opportunity for the registrars of the REG to get together to share ideas, harmonize processes, and discuss ways forward. Since then it’s been held every year at different locations, reflecting the geography of the Red Ensign Group which consists of the U.K., the Crown Dependencies of Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man, and Overseas Territories of Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, St. Helena, and the Turks and Caicos Islands. The event which was first held 31 years ago, has also grown to include business strategy, policy and safety matters. This year’s conference looked at matters of technical interest and held separate sessions for registrars and those who oversee coastal state preparedness. About 80 delegates attended and the conference was a huge success. A R E C E N T H I G H L I G H T F O R T H E I S L A N D : MONTSERRAT PORT AUTHOR I TY