maritime

New ministry goal of CMP president

David Mesa/LA PRENSA

Rubén Karamañites1069370

The president of the Cámara Marítima de Panamá (CMP), Rubén Karamañites, has proposed that the government create a Ministerio Marítimo to represent one of the country's biggest industry within the Executive branch.

Business within the maritime sector represents about 20 percent of the country's gross domestic product, Karamañites said. Therefore, it should be treated as a separate entity with its own representation at Consejo de Gabinete meetings.

The CMP is composed of more than 130 entities, including ports, shipping agencies, maritime auxiliary industries, environmental organizations, insurance adjusters, maritime lawyers and others. “The proposal is for having politicians that represent [maritime interests] at cabinet meetings, and that can advance maritime development within the government,” said the CMP's newly elected president.

At one time in the Torrijos administration, the Autoridad Marítima de Panamá (AMP) was headed by second vice president Rubén Arosemena. But Torrijos later shuffled his cabinet, assigning Fernando Solórzano to head the AMP. The change meant that the agency was no longer represented at cabinet meetings.

One of the problems that stems from a lack of a maritime presence on the cabinet identified by Karamañites is the lack of planning for the use of land adjacent to the Panama Canal. Karamañites said that such issues could be administered by a Maritime Ministry.

“There are a number of investors and businesses that, inexplicably, do not have an outlet to the water,” he said. A ministry would also help the maritime industry modernize existing resources and create laws that would lead to opportunities to expand the industry.

A Maritime Ministry is not a new idea, according to AMP Secretary Carlos Ernesto González De La Lastra, who said that it is already a part of the new Merchant Shipping Act.

“We've kept silent on this issue because we don't want to burn the bread right before it comes out of the oven,” the AMP official said.

De La Lastra also agreed with Karamañites about addressing land use issues along the Canal. He said when the area was under U.S. administration, little attention was paid to the issue because that entity had no interest in maritime development.

Now, however, it is an important part of expanding the country's economic base.