Regional meeting looks at maritime security

The horrific events of September eleventh have left the world, especially the United States of America, increasingly concerned over the threat of another terrorist attack. That fear has spawned several international initiatives designed to beef up the state of national security in countries around the globe. This week in Belize, the National Emergency Management Organisation’s fourth annual conference is focusing on maritime security issues, specifically at the country’s ports and within the cruise ship tourism industry. According to NEMO’s secretariat, participants from Barbados, Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Costa Rica, and Guatemala are meeting in Belize to recommend ways for dealing with an incident onboard a cruise ship, like a fire, which would result in mass casualties and evacuation. The event is being facilitated by officials from the Louisiana National Guard and the Belize Defence Force. According to Lt. Col. George Lovell, today the group visited the Belize Tourism Village and the Port of Belize Limited to get a first hand look at what we’re dealing with on the water.

Lt. Col. George Lovell, Training Officer, NEMO Secretariat
?We have to secure our investments. The tourist industry is now one of the largest money earners for the country, and so the National Emergency Management Organization secretariat, we believe that we must do our part in securing Belize?s interests. And so we decided to, well again, it was something that a few years ago we looked at the maritime area and we wanted to put together a security plan.?

Janelle Chanona
?So far in these seminars, what have you found? Are we prepared to deal with a maritime disaster??

Lt. Col. George Lovell
?Partnership is the answer. Alone, no we are not prepared. But if we look at all the partners that are involved, we have the cruise ship industry, we have our neighbours: Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico, the Caribbean, all those Latin American countries. We have the Americans who have a number of their people aboard those vessels. If we work together, and partnership works, yes we are prepared.?

According to Lovell, next week NEMO is holding an awareness week for national disasters under the theme “Public Participation Protects the Nation.”