THE BARBADOS COAST GUARD is sending a warning shot that it will not be letting up in efforts to protect the island from those engaging in illicit activities.
He said there were 239 successful counter-narcotics operations, which netted about 30 000 pounds of marijuana and 425 kilogrammes of cocaine with a combined estimated street value of over $700 million. They also conducted over 4 000 deliberate board-and-search operations.
On the other side of the spectrum, they had also engaged in 476 successful search and rescue missions, 11 medical evacuations of injured mariners from vessels at sea, and ten regional humanitarian assistance and disaster response missions in support of the Regional Security System.
The commanding officer said even more challenges were on the horizon.
“With the current climate of international terrorism as a non-traditional threat to the national security of our nation, the Barbados Coast Guard is paying keen attention to the proposed expansion of the Bridgetown Harbour, the possible construction of offshore islands and the exploration of our offshore oil reserves,” Peterson said.
“These projects will facilitate a two-fold increase in the number of cruise ships and commercial vessels that visit the island in the near future. The Coast Guard must make itself ready for the challenges that these developments will bring.” ( SDB Media) PRIME MINISTER MIA MOTTLEY
(right) taking the salute as memebrs of the Barbados Coast Guard march past after the
service. (Pictures by Ricardo Leacock.)
It has come from Commanding Officer Mark Peterson, who said they stood ready to effectively respond to new and emerging threats.
He was speaking at a service to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Coast Guard at the Whitepark Wesleyan Holiness Church on Whitepark Road, St Michael, yesterday. Prime Minister Mia Mottley was among those at the service themed Embrace The Past; Celebrate The Present; Chart The Future.
Peterson revealed that since its modernisation in 2007 with the move to HMBS Pelican at Brandons, Spring Garden, and even with “less than adequate maritime resources [and] non-existent aeronautical support”, the Coast Guard had shown its force on the high seas.
Counter-narcotics operations
FROM LEFT, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Barbados Defence Force, Commander Aquinas Clarke; Commanding Officer of the Barbados Coast Guard, Mark Peterson, and Commanding Officer of the Barbados Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Carlos Lovell, among the congregation at yesterday’s anniversary service.
