Aruba as an island is heavily dependent on the maritime sector for, among other things, a great portion of our visitors – cruise lines – as well as imports of food, raw materials and fuel. Countries that receive a lot of ships, like Aruba, need to take international law into consideration and ensure to always comply with these.
If that is not the case, the country can find itself in serious trouble. Each country receiving ships needs to have a maritime administration, which in the case of Aruba is Directie Scheepvaart – the Department of Shipping Management. This department ensures that the country is complying with international law.
In 2020, countries in the Kingdom of the Netherlands made agreements to install a so-called Koninkrijks Maritieme Administratie (KMA), the Kingdom Maritime Administration. KMA’s main task is to have collaboration among all maritime administration in order to help each other on the maritime sector. This ensures that the Kingdom of the Netherlands can successfully pass the IMSAS Audit by IMO London, which will take place in the beginning of 2023.
In the context of preparations for this audit, recently the Aruban minister of Transport, Mr. Ursell Arends received a visit from the KMA delegation from the Netherlands, during which they discussed cooperation, existing concerns and the opportunities available for Aruba – and sister islands with the possibility of cooperation and the help of experts both from the Netherlands and other countries within the Kingdom.
It is important to recognize the importance of our maritime sector, and Directie Scheepvaart which is in charge of this. Directie Scheepvaart is working tirelessly and continuously to continue keeping Aruba in compliance with all international law.
