A project funded primarily by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) at a cost of Cdn$200,000, should help Guyana's shipping sector put in place new security measures among other initiatives.

The project is being managed by a Steering Committee comprising the Customs and Trade Administration (CTA), the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD), the Shipping Association of Guyana (SAG) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The launch of the project was held last week in the MARAD boardroom, Fort Street, Kingston.

It is envisaged that as a result of the project, Guyana will be able to conform to many of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) regulations and standards, 17 of which it has acceded to since 1997. The project will also seek to develop a database and establish information systems on the shipping industry's capacity and cargo movement.

Director General of Maritime Affairs at MARAD, Ivor English, said that one of the pending conventions was the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code (ISPS), which would be mandatory by July.

He was confident that by then, Guyana would be in a better position to set up the ISPS code but for the conventions to be properly implemented and enforced they must be enshrined in national laws.