Belize to Formally Join COCATRAM

For the past two decades, Belize has established a working relationship with the Central American Commission for Maritime Transport, COCATRAM.  While Belize Port Authority has been working closely with the regional organization, the country is not yet a member and hasn‘t been enjoying the full benefits of membership. That’s until now, Port Commissioner Gilbert Swaso and a team from COCATRAM sat down to discuss Belize’s formal association with COCATRAM.

Major Gilbert Swaso (Ret’d)

Major Gilbert Swaso (Ret’d), Port Commissioner

“We may all know that Belize, as a country, is a member of SICA and COCATRAM is one of the organizations that are integrated with SICA.  Belize, for over twenty years, has been associated with COCATRAM and has derived some significant benefits as a result of being associated with COCATRAM.  However, there is tremendous more benefits to be earned if Belize should become a full-fledged member of COCATRAM.  So it is then that we have a delegation of four people which includes the vice minister, the president of COCATRAM and the executive director are here with us to explain to the minister, the chairman of the board and the senior management of the Belize Port Authority the tremendous benefit that can be derived for a country, as a country and as a maritime and port administration.  Those benefits include training, they also include technical capacity building and contingency planning just at the very basic.  We, as a country, also, and as an authority, are also responsible for port/state controlled inspections and again, that is something that we can get the technical capacity from COCATRAM with a view for us to be better able to conduct those inspections so that then we ensure that the vessels that are coming into Belize are operating safely.”