A small but significant opening was held on Monday, 5th December 2022 to launch the Yamaha Japan Operations and Maintenance 2-day training workshop for a brand new Fisheries Patrol Vessel.
A team of Japanese engineers facilitated the training which began aboard the vessel at the Urban Development Corporation (UDC) Marina at Port Zante, Basseterre, St. Kitts with a focus on the operations such as vessel capacity, and fueling, risk management and boating safety practices.
The fisheries patrol vessel is approximately 40 feet with three (3) 300-horsepower (hp) Yamaha 4-stroke engines and was procured under the Japan International Cooperation System (JICS) grant aid project.
During the opening, Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Marine Resources and Cooperatives, Miguel Flemming used the opportunity to thank the Japanese for their contribution.
He said, “Japan is continuing their support to the government of St. Kitts and Nevis and we can say that we are happy to have something like this done.”
Meanwhile, the Director of the Department of Marine Resources, Dr. T Marc Williams explained the main purpose of the fishing vessel while noting its importance to the fishing community.
He said, “Finally we have received our fisheries patrol vessel from the government of Japan which we are going to use in terms of monitoring surveillance and control of our waters and assistance for fishers in times of distress. So we are thankful to the Japanese and we are going to make the best use of this vessel going forward.”
As part of the training, the engineers tested all equipment on-board the vessel, performed sea trials and provided detailed operational explanations and guidance for the equipment to officers in the Department of Marine Resources.
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