KINGSTON, Jamaica - Director General of the Maritime Authority of Jamaica (MAJ), Rear Admiral Peter Brady, has hailed the Women in Maritime Association Caribbean (WiMAC) as a beacon for young women and girls across the region and the rest of the world.

“We celebrate your growth and momentum, which clearly shows a maturing women maritime organisation...,” he said.

“You have shown the Governments of the Caribbean, the shipping sector, institutions and academia that women are empowered to conduct maritime affairs at any professional level be it technical, including at sea, management and the administrative arena. Your contribution to the sustainable growth and development of the maritime and shipping industry is invaluable,” Rear Admiral Brady added.

He was speaking at the Regional Conference and Sixth Annual General Meeting of the WiMAC at the Ocean Coral Spring Resort in Trelawny on Tuesday.

Eighty delegates from 15 Caribbean countries are participating in the three-day conference from October 3 to 5 under the theme ‘Navigating Horizons: Mobilising Stronger Networks for Caribbean Women towards a Sustainable Maritime Industry’.

Rear Admiral Brady welcomed the WiMAC delegations from across the region to Jamaica on behalf of Minister of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport Darryl Vaz, and hailed the coming together of Caribbean women in maritime to discuss matters impacting the industry.

“With 15 Caribbean countries currently enjoying WiMAC membership, our significance as a region is not unnoticed by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and other international organisations, which give high recognition and support to your maritime efforts,” he said.

He noted that the Government of Jamaica and the Board of the MAJ have enthusiastically embraced the concept of a Women in Maritime Association within the Caribbean region from its inception in 2014 and accepted the proposal for Jamaica to support the Caribbean chapter of the IMO initiative.

“Our history of women in prominent positions in this country reinforced our impetus,” Rear Admiral Brady noted, adding that gender balance in Jamaica is traditional, especially in the public service, which has the highest ratio of executive and senior managers in the world.

Admiral Brady pointed out, for example, that the Board Chair of Jamaica’s maritime administration, Corah Ann Robertson Sylvester, is the chief executive officer of Seaboard Marine Jamaica, and there were several other women similarly positioned in attendance at the conference.

He lauded the WiMAC team for being consistent in their efforts to achieve the association’s mandate.

– JIS