Top maritime regulatory leaders from across the Caribbean have gathered in Guyana for the 31st annual meeting of the Caribbean Port State Control (CPSC), where cracking down on repeat non-compliance among ocean-going vessels and rooting out fraudulent shipping documentation have emerged as top policy priorities.
Opening the conference at the AC Marriott in Ogle, along Guyana’s East Coast Demerara on Tuesday, CPSC Chairman Michel Amafo laid out the core agenda for delegates, who will spend the summit reviewing past policy outcomes, approving the organization’s annual operating budget, and tackling pressing systemic gaps uncovered in routine port inspections.
In an interview with Demerara Waves Online News, Amafo outlined the most common and dangerous deficiencies inspectors are currently flagging during port checks. These include faulty or non-functional life-saving equipment, inadequate firefighting systems, violations of seafarers’ employment contracts, and a growing number of cases involving fraudulent safety certificates, falsified vessel registries, and illegitimate “false flags” that hide a vessel’s true ownership and compliance status.
When authorities encounter suspected false flags, Amafo explained the CPSC has a clear verification and enforcement protocol: the CPSC contacts the claimed flag state to confirm the vessel’s registration, and any vessel found to be operating under a falsified flag is immediately detained in port until the issue is resolved.
Guyana’s Minister of Maritime Affairs Deodat Indar used the opening of the conference to call for a unified regional response to “rogue operators” that fraudulently misuse the Guyanese flag to avoid compliance checks. He emphasized that these bad actors undermine the integrity of the global shipping industry and unfairly damage Guyana’s reputation, noting the country is often wrongfully associated with illegal activity it does not condone or participate in. Indar stressed that coordinated action with regional partners is critical to stamp out this harmful practice.
Looking back at the CPSC’s progress over the past decade, Indar praised the organization for driving tangible improvements in maritime safety across the region. He credited these gains to three key changes: the widespread adoption of digital inspection and clearance systems, deeper integration with global maritime regulatory frameworks, and the adoption of more standardized, consistent inspection protocols across all CPSC member states.
Indar also warned of the severe human and environmental costs of allowing non-compliant vessels to operate, stressing that unaddressed inspection failures can lead to catastrophic accidents including groundings, sinking, and loss of life at sea. Even with these ongoing risks, he noted that regional compliance with international maritime conventions has improved significantly in recent years, with inspection practices growing far more consistent across member jurisdictions.
Sharing details of Guyana’s own recent inspection work, Indar revealed that Guyanese authorities completed 12 in-person port state control inspections last year, and conducted digital vetting for 286 vessels through its online clearance system that serves cargo operations supporting the country’s growing offshore oil sector. He added that many shipping lines have served the Guyana trade route for decades, but are now moving three times the volume of cargo using the same older fleets — a trend that increases the urgency of rigorous regular inspections to catch safety deficiencies before they lead to accidents.