MILESTONE AGREEMENT SIGNED ABOARD CUTTER CONFIDENCE 

By ENS Dawn Josephson, CGC Confidence

TORTOLA, British Virgin Islands (BVI) – At a ceremony on board the Coast Guard Cutter Confidence Aug. 12, the United States and British Virgin Islands entered into a historic international agreement concerning maritime environmental pollution in Tortola.

BVI/US signing August 12, 2004
The Governments of the United States of America and the British Virgin Islands signed an agreement Aug. 12, which was designed to enhance the ability to respond to a major discharge of oil or other hazardous substances in the vicinity of the British Virgin Islands. USCG photo.
The signing was a landmark agreement between the two nations, represented by Rear Admiral Thomas Gilmour and Governor, British Virgin Islands, His Excellency Thomas Macan, calling for the U.S. Coast Guard support in responding to requests for technical assistance following major pollution spills. 

 

Pat Keane, U.S. Coast Guard, District Seven, Region 4 Regional Response Team, and Pollution Response Coordinator for the Caribbean said, “The signing was a culmination of ten years to shepherd the agreement through the State Department, United Kingdom Overseas Territory Department, and Coast Guard Headquarters.”  

 

United Kingdom Overseas Territory Department officially authorized BVI to begin negotiations June 6.  However, earlier works contributed to the long term agreement; a plan for oil and hazardous waste response, systematically adding to BVI’s already exemplary disaster management structure.  According to Gilmour, those prior efforts included honing in on infrastructure issues, environment sensitivity mapping of BVI, spill response training, development of Parliament and Counsel involving Immigration, Customs, and work permits.  All endeavors ensured that the agreement would be well equipped for today’s pollution problems.

 

Gilmour said, “This agreement reflects ground breaking works in terms of regional protection of the spread of oil, hazardous wastes, per the protocol to the Cartegena Convention. The Cartegena Convention requires the development of bilateral agreements to build more robust maritime environmental protection infrastructure in the Caribbean region.  The protocol and the convention speak to nations working together for oil and hazardous marine spills.”   

-USCG-

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