GPL scrambling to meet port code deadline
By Johann Earle and Oscar P Clarke
Stabroek News
June 30, 2004
Guyana has been declared ready to meet the International Ship and Port Security Code (ISPS) deadline of tomorrow, July 1, although GPL still has to put in place several measures to be compliant.
This could have major implications for the utility's fuel supplies given that the vessel which delivers fuel would not be able to dock at the Guyana Power and Light's (GPL) wharves after midnight today until the company is ISPS compliant.
Director General of the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD), Ivor English yesterday confirmed the country's general readiness and said he expects to be issuing certificates of compliance today, hours before the deadline.
According to English, there would be no extension for any port facility or ship not complying with the ISPS guidelines and his office would stop receiving plans as of 6 pm today.
Of the 33 or so facilities recognised for coverage, some 28 were deemed to have completed requirements for compliance, a figure which English said is particularly encouraging.
But some wharf owners are still not ready.
Bharat Dindial, GPL's Chief Operations Officer, said last night that the company only submitted its security plan to MARAD yesterday afternoon, but it has not yet been approved. "Our people told me that there were some additional measures to be complied with," he said. He further said that the matter of the company's wharves being compliant was still being discussed.
He told Stabroek News earlier yesterday that the company had provided MARAD with information on what it had done to ensure that its premises are secure. He had also said that he was not aware of the company's wharves being in default.
Prior to reaching Dindial, calls to several GPL officials, including its Public Relations Officer, Marjorie Chester, saw this newspaper being directed to a number of other persons.
A source at the Guyana National Shipping Corporation (GNSC) said yesterday that the ship that brings fuel for GPL, the Tradewind Sunrise was yesterday morning discharging petroleum products at the GPL wharf at Kingston.
It was also scheduled to undertake a similar discharge at the power company's Garden of Eden wharf on the East Bank of Demerara.
The agency responsible for the vessel's call in Guyana indicated yesterday that if everything remains on schedule, the vessel would be at the wharf just hours before the July 1 deadline. The vessel is also scheduled to travel to the Berbice River today to discharge fuel at the Guyana Oil Company (Guyoil) wharf at Heathburn.
Deputy Director-General of the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD), Taig Kallicharran had stressed that ports not certified before the deadline would not be able to do so after the cut-off date unless at a time so directed by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).
The vessel, Tradewind Sunrise, which comes to Guyana once a week with a load of petroleum products for Guyoil and GPL, usually sails from Trinidad. The vessel's agent, GNSC, confirmed to Stabroek News that the Tradewind Sunrise is ISPS compliant and this means that after tomorrow it would not be able to visit port facilities that are not.
Stabroek News understands that Guyoil's berth at Providence on the East Bank of Demerara has the capacity to hold oil in the case that the ship cannot go to the two GPL berths, for want of those berths being certified. This could, however, result in additional transportation costs.
Meanwhile, Managing Director of Guyoil, Naresh Singh said yesterday that the company has completed about ninety per cent of the work. He said security assessments and plans for both the Heathburn and Providence bulk terminals have been sent to MARAD and that he expects to have a positive response soon. He said that the company has had to improve its surveillance and has installed a 10-foot fence augmented with barbed wire. According to Singh, the company is considering the installation of security cameras and proper gate access systems with the use of identification cards.
Singh said that it was quite possible that if there were delays, its chartered vessel, the Tradewind Sunrise, would still be in Guyana when the code comes into effect.
Stabroek News also spoke with Co-ordinator of Rambaran Import and Export, Deenashwar Ramgolam who said one ship, the Paulemose 'R', has received compliance while another, the Emerald 'R', is currently being repaired. He said the company has submitted its security assessment and plan to MARAD and is awaiting approval.
He said that the company's wharf at Land of Canaan has seen about half the work to meet the requirements completed, including the perimeter fence and some pile driving at the wharf front, but that the surveillance cameras are very expensive. The identification card system is also not ready.
He said that about twice a month, the port facility usually accommodates ships of up to 250-feet to load sand and offload fertiliser for the Guyana Sugar Corporation.
He said the company is trying desperately to meet the level of security by tomorrow's deadline. He said officials from the company were at an emergency meeting with MARAD on Monday afternoon. At that meeting, MARAD Director-General English had questioned whether the defaulting berths would be in line for tomorrow's deadline.
Shanta Persaud, an employee of Rambaran's told Stabroek News yesterday that the costs of complying were piling up. "With the ISPS, it's better to tie the ships up. The [IMO] need to give people a grace period," she lamented.