-all port facilities around the country involved

BOSAI MINERALS Guyana Group Incorporated (BMGG) on Tuesday collaborated with the Maritime Administration (MARAD) and other relevant players to host an International Ship and Port Facility (ISPF) programme code-named ‘exercise distraction’, to equip these with the needed skills to properly respond to any emergency situation on the port and to mitigate any maximum damage, while putting measures in place to minimise undesired series of events.

These include terrorism attacks, bomb threats, theft or drug-related offences. The respective agencies that participated include the Guyana Police Force, the Guyana Fire Service, the Linden Hospital Complex, St. John’s Ambulance Brigade, the Guyana Revenue Authority, Delmur Shipping Agent and the Linden Community Policing Group. The representatives were tested on the evacuation procedure, the efficiency of internal, external and back-up communication, the effectiveness of area monitors and the emergency coordinators, crowd control and security procedures.

According to Bosai’s Port Facility Officer, John Domer, international ports across the world are mandated to be compliant with the ISPF code. “There is stipulation to check on communication, access control, the response by designated authorities and other law-enforcement agencies such as drug enforcement, the Guyana Revenue Authority and so forth,” Domer said. Since Bosai is deemed an international port, given the fact that the company exports more than 500 tonnes of bauxite per ship, according to the ISPF code, Bosai must be ISPF-compliant.

Involved in the training were all port facilities across the country including John Fernandes Shipping, the Guyana National Shipping Company, as well as the Guyana Power and Light and about 16 others.
The ISPF code, he said, was formulated in 2002 and came into effect in 2004. The ISPF compliance came after the September 11 terrorism attack in New York City. Domer said that Bosai has been in compliance since 2008 and this was the third consecutive exercise at the port since 2015.