Belize Port Authority Hosts Maritime Expo on World Maritime Day

Today Belize joined the world in celebrating World Maritime Day. In Belize City, the Belize Port Authority and partners hosted an expo showcasing the industry’s role in the economy and daily life. Around 200 students from seven Belize City high schools attended, learning how to get involved. Speakers included the Coast Guard, the Coastal Zone Management Authority, and the Port of Belize, who shared career opportunities and policy insights and encouraged visits to the expo. We spoke to Ports Commissioner Kaylon Young.

 

Kaylon Young, Ports Commissioner, Belize Port Authority

“ It’s important that we understand that the youths are our future. So we want to ensure that we build the seed of the maritime sector in their minds from a young age. And so we invited the school to come into the expo to see what it is. To spark that in that mindset of being a part of maritime sector. Be a part of conservation, being a part of the environment.”

 

Lt. Cmdr. Jasmine Bellini, Sector Commander, Belize Coast Guard

“So the booth here shows the different facets of the Belize Coast Guard. I know a lot of people have this mindset that the Coast Guard, we just have the traditional, you go on the sea, you have maritime enforcement. But there’s so many other aspects of it. We have the support, we have the engineers, we have the actual operational fleet that goes out and do the active enforcement part.  We have the medical, we also have legal marine resource. We have the drone. So there’s so many aspects of the Belize Coast Guard.”

 

Caisha Fermin, GIS Technician, Coastal Zone Management Authority and Institute

“So today, out here presented of all the units on the projects we have going on, we have two. So we have the co, we have the Water Quality Monitoring Unit, and we have coastal planning.  So under water quality monitoring, today we’re just gonna talk about the different techniques we use, the different tools we have, and how this data is used to integrate into planning and monitoring.” 1

 

Nicole Reneau, Human Resource Assistant, Port of Belize Limited

“ Come to the expo, get educated about the maritime industry, and feel free to ask any questions. We are here to answer your questions and we are here to educate everybody.”