KINGSTON, Jamaica — Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett is scheduled to speak later today at the American Caribbean Maritime Foundation’s Anchor Awards, taking place at the Fort Lauderdale Yacht Club in Florida.

The event will be chaired by Mike Maura, CEO of the Nassau Cruise Port Ltd, and will honour Harriat Maragh, CEO of Lannaman & Morris (Shipping) Limited (posthumous); and Alyse Lisk, senior vice president of Technology and Operational Excellence at TOTE Maritime.

“I am very pleased to be attending and delivering remarks at the Anchor Awards. It is especially heartening to share my gratitude to the family of our very own Harry Maragh, who was a pillar in Jamaica’s tourism and shipping industries. His contribution was truly invaluable and he was indeed a remarkable human being,” Bartlett said.

“I am also looking forward to congratulating Ms Alyse Lisk, who is also being honoured this evening for her contribution to the maritime industry, as well as the Foundation for all the important work they do to assist Caribbean students,” he added.

The Anchor Awards will be attended by several Government officials and senior executives of major cruise and cargo liners. Government officials expected to attend include Bahamian Prime Minister, Philip Davis; Deputy Prime Minister of the Bahamas, Chester Cooper, and Minister of Tourism & Investment for Antigua & Barbuda, Charles Fernandez,

Also expected to attend are Rick Sasso, CEO of MSC Cruises; Michael Bayley, CEO of Royal Caribbean International; and Rick Murrell, CEO of Saltchuk (parent company of Tropical Shipping).

The American Caribbean Maritime Foundation is a non-profit organisation based in New York, supporting Caribbean students studying maritime. The Foundation exists to specifically support the work of the Caribbean Maritime University (Jamaica), the University of Trinidad and Tobago, and LJM Maritime Academy (Bahamas).

It provides scholarships to Caribbean nationals who are aspiring seafarers to study maritime-related coursework and degrees; funds the building of classrooms; provides laptops to support remote study.

The Foundation has also awarded 61 scholarships and grants to students from Jamaica, The Bahamas, Trinidad, Grenada, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and St Lucia.