Company engaged to map underwater resources of SVG

A company has been engaged by the Government to map the underwater/seabed resources of St Vincent and the Grenadines.
Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves, speaking in Calliaqua during the handing over of a new coast guard vessel on Thursday said he has never mentioned the exercise before as he is waiting for the right time to expound on it.

“I engaged a company to map our resources and they mapped largely on the Eastern side, a small area on the Western side also because the geology suggest that they may be, far enough out not to disturb our tourism…” Gonsalves said.

He said the engagement took place last year and the government wants to know if we have resources under the sea that we can exploit as there is an international law regarding the seabed.

“I want all the young people and not so young to read up on the minerals which lie at the bottom of the seabed,” said Gonsalves while noting that it is at this point impossible for man to reach the furthest depths of the ocean, but there are mountain ranges and ledges with minerals.

He said the International Seabed Authority (ISA) located in Jamaica deals with things of this nature and while it is impossible for us to map everything, it is important to know what we have.

“Even after I dead, if anything is there commercially we have to know what is there and we have an agreement about how persons can pay, companies can pay for the information if you have…” Gonsalves pointed out.

“Is not everything you talk…but I just talk enough to tell you. Some people might say, ‘that concerns people of St Vincent and the Grenadines’, yes, yes, but when everything is in the proper institutional hands when the time is right…” Gonsalves said.