There was a lot of protest earlier this year when the Fort Point Tourism Village erected black shutters behind their gates and built what some called the great divide. They were complaints then from stakeholders but now we are hearing the "I told you so's." That is because Belize now boasts of being one of the first countries to become compliant with the international ship and port security code. And you guessed it one of the requirements was to make our seaports safe. And if you are asking what is the ISPS well in the post 9/11 era it is the international standard set to reduce maritime vulnerabilities from terrorists. Belize's compliance was celebrated this morning alongside the opening of a new maritime communications center. Minister of Communications Hon. Vildo Marin spoke at this morning's ceremony.
Hon. Vildo Marin, Minister of Communications
"The fact that we are here today acknowledges Belize's compliance before the first of July deadline and it is indicative of the foresight and commitment of both government and the private sector to the continued development of our country. Non-compliance can result in ships stop calling on a country's port and such destruction threatens the economic security of any state. In the case of Belize, our cruise tourism which is blooming, a non-compliance to the code would have been detrimental to this industry and disrupted also all of our trade."
That deadline for compliance was this Thursday July 1st. The communication center opened this morning is phase one of three phases which are slated for completion over the next 18 months. During this morning's ceremony U.S. Ambassador Russell Freeman presented $26,000 worth of maritime communications equipment to Belize.