Island presence at maritime conference
Guernsey is among jurisdictions considering future maritime strategies at this week’s Red Ensign Group conference being hosted in Jersey.
The conference oversees and upholds maritime safety standards across the 13 British Shipping Registers which make up the Red Ensign Group.
It is meeting to discuss best practice and to look at ways of improving the performance of the Registers internationally.
Issues including sustainability, greener shipping and innovation in maritime matters are on the agenda for the three-day event, which concludes today.
‘It’s important that we continue to work together to enhance the quality and reputation of the British fleet,’ said Jersey harbour master Captain Bill Sadler.
The REG conference began in 1988 as an opportunity for the registrars of the REG to get together to share ideas, harmonise processes and discuss ways forward.
Since then it has expanded to cover seafarer welfare and regulatory matters as well as coastal preparedness including search and rescue and pollution response.
Any vessel registered in the UK, a Crown Dependency or UK Overseas Territory is a British ship and is entitled to fly the Red Ensign flag.
The group consists of the UK, the Crown Dependencies of Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man, and Overseas Territories of Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, St Helena, and the Turks and Caicos Islands.
There are also delegates in attendance from the non-ship registry Overseas Territories of South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, Ascension and Tristan Da Cunha.
