New law to speed up port paperwork, punish traffickers

A new law to cut red tape for cargo and cruise ships using the busy gateway is now before lawmakers.

Improvements in the processing of documents would ease the way ships do business with the port, Minister of Tourism and International Transport Ian Gooding-Edghill said as he introduced the Facilitation of International Maritime Traffic Bill in the name of Minister of Home Affairs Wilfred Abrahams.

But while the new law is intended to speed up the movement of goods and people through the port, it is also intended to fight human trafficking and false goods declarations, according to the minister.

“The Act is designed to ensure that there is a fast turnaround of ships calling into Barbados and this will augur well for Barbados as a preferred homeporting destination,” Gooding-Edgill told the House of Assembly in its first sitting for the year. The inefficiencies were highlighted during a 2019 audit of the port’s operation, he added.

The minister said homeporting status will also enhance Barbados’ allure as a tourism destination. Both cargo and tourism vessels will be able to access a Maritime Single Window system designed to consolidate the various touch points which presently have to be engaged, he explained.

A National Maritime Facilitation Committee is also to be established under the law to expedite the clearance of international sea traffic. Gooding-Edghill further explained that the Barbados Port Inc. will have responsibility for designing the programme to facilitate and expedite the clearance of international maritime traffic partly by reducing their administrative “burden”.

He touted a benefit for the environment – more efficient processing would support the island’s climate change initiatives by reducing wait times at the berths and the amount of fuel ships used.

The maritime single window will receive customs data via the ASYCUDA World system presently used by the port and that information will be made available throughout the system to other critical areas, Parliament heard.

“We have to pay great attention to security and other information,” said Gooding-Edghill. “Passenger and crew lists will be received from the Joint Regional Communications Centre known as the (JRCC)…. The data from Customs and the JRCC will be collated and stored in a single repository defined as the Maritime Single Window.” 

Clearance agencies will review the information collated and determine the severity of risks to arrival or departure, he explained to the Lower Chamber.

The tourism minister said this means that vessels entering Barbados can immediately discharge their cargo or passengers.

Gooding-Edghill said that the contactless single window will be available to “authorised” officials at all times providing the “real-time” information necessary to improve the Bridgetown Port’s efficiency and performance.

But while offering a carrot to potential freight and passenger traffic, the new legislation is a bigger stick against those entering the port with false documents.

People with fake documents for entry or who make false customs declarations could face heavy fines under the new legislation. The penalty for an offending crew member or passenger who attempts illegal entry could be as much as $20 000 or 12 months in prison, or both.

False general or cargo declarations or crew and passenger lists carry a fine of up to $500 000.

“It is important because in this day and age of human trafficking, we have to ensure that we are compliant with all of the treaties, and we have to ensure that Barbados’ reputation is protected. We also have to ensure that declarations made to the customs and immigration are above board,” Gooding-Edghill added.

According to the minister, in accordance with the International Maritime Organisation’s conventions, a ship arriving in Barbados from a port outside of the country is required to immediately report any stowaways discovered to the Chief Immigration Officer and the Commissioner of
Police.

“Where the ship owner, the ship agent or the ship master has reported the discovery of a stowaway or an attempted stowaway and the stowaway disembarks the ship and is taken into the custody of the Chief Immigration Officer, the ship owner shall be responsible for the costs of maintaining the stowaway or the attempted stowaway,” he said. (SP)