Taking charge of our borders

L-R Lt. Cd. Jack Kerr, Lt Cd Bob Morrison and Chief
Petty Officer Steve Andrew of the Royal British Navy
address 18 Marine course participants

L-R Det Supt Mike Needham and Lt Cd Bob Morrison

Thursday,  February 9, 2006

Royal British Navy experts are here in the Cayman Islands to train marine crime fighters in what has been called “a major specialist training programme.”

Detecting crime in local waters is now an “urgent” agenda item, according to Chief of Cayman’s Marine Section, Inspector Brad Ebanks.

Consequently, the one-week training course in Interdiction and Boat handling skills that began on Monday 6 February 2006 for some 18 selected Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RICPS) and HM Customs Officers is only the beginning of a continuous 12-month programme.

“Normally marine training would be done overseas. We will still send officers overseas but with the urgency to target our borders we will be able to train more officers at once through the work of this UK Security Team here,” Mr Ebanks explained.

He said that with the training being done locally the Marine Unit will be able to, “get off the ground” much more quickly.

Even though it is the Islands’ Marine Unit that is conducting the programme, Lt Commander Bob Morrison of the Royal British Navy said that the number of mixed RCIPS and Customs participants could rise to 35 some time during the programme.

Demonstrating the need for these officers Lt Commander Morrison said, “Over the past months there has been very little marine protection.

“Our (Royal Navy) team, which is based in Antigua and handles fifteen islands as part of its remit for Overseas Territories in the area of border control, has made four visits to Cayman since 2003”

However, Mr Morrison said that this time around the team would be “engaged for a long time.”

Asked if the programme would include training with the new Marine equipment that was spoken of last year when the Government increased spending on crime fighting equipment, Mr Morrison said “yes” and gave an estimated time of six months for that training to begin.

In the one-week of the programme the officers will spend time with the experts in Cayman Islands’ waters using The Cayman Protector, as well as other vessels.

This training session marks the start of an ongoing development programme for the Marine Unit.

The Unit’s role includes the reduction and detection of crime in Cayman Waters including the trafficking of drugs and firearms and illegal immigration; patrol of territorial and coastal waters of all three islands; stop and search of maritime vessels; investigation of maritime thefts; patrol of waterborne tourist activity; ensuring safety of life at sea including search and rescue; policing high-profile water-borne events such as Regattas and swims.

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