Bertrand Smith, attorney-at-law and director of legal affairs at the Maritime Authority of Jamaica, presents the course on 'Essential Legal Principles of Commercial Shipping' to a keen group of participants drawn from the shipping..

The first in a series of short courses presented by the Shipping Association of Jamaica (SAJ), in association with the Caribbean Maritime Institute (CMI), proved highly successful.

The two-day workshop in 'Essential Legal Principles of Commercial Shipping' was held in the SAJ's training room from April 18-19 and attracted 45 participants from the shipping industry, the legal fraternity as well as the manufacturing and distribution sectors.

The course provided participants with a deeper understanding of international maritime law and key legal concepts involved in the transport of goods by sea.

Sessions were conducted by Bertrand Smith, an attorney-at-law with over 14 years' experience in the area of maritime and environmental law. Since 2001, he has been the director of legal affairs at the Maritime Authority of Jamaica where he has been responsible for the development of shipping and admiralty legislation in Jamaica.

Major objective

Participants in the course on 'Essential Legal Principles of Commercial Shipping'

A major objective of this joint training initiative between the SAJ and the CMI is to provide accredited vocational training for professionals within the local and regional shipping industry which will be recognised internationally and will provide accreditation towards further maritime-related training locally and abroad.

These courses are being provided with a view to assisting members of the SAJ (mainly shipping companies and agencies) to upgrade their human resource capacity to ensure competitiveness, efficiency and productivity.

The two institutions plan to provide short, comprehensive training modules in various maritime-related fields on an ongoing basis. The programme boasts the added advantage of internationally recognised accreditation which will provide contact hours for matriculation requirements that are internationally recognised.

Participants in these programmes are awarded SAJ/CMI certificates of achievement. Trevor Riley, general manager of the SAJ, and Fritz Pinnock, executive director of the CMI, presented certificates to participants who completed the first SAJ/CMI short course during a brief ceremony held at the end of the two-day workshop.

Attorney-at-law Stacey-Ann Soltau-Robinson accepts her certificate of achievement from Trevor Riley, general manager of the Shipping Association of Jamaica (SAJ), at the end of the short course on 'Essential Legal Principles of Commercial Shipping'. Also pictured are attorney-at-law Bertrand Smith (left), presenter of the course, and Keisha Walker (partly hidden), international programme coordinator of the Caribbean Maritime Institute.