US-Bahamas agreement
21/08/2008
U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Kirsten Madison and Acting Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Bahamas T. Brent Symonette signed a bilateral shipboarding agreement in Nassau as part of the Proliferation Security Initiative or PSI. This is the ninth such agreement signed by the United States.
The Bahamas has the world's third largest ship registry, measured by gross tonnage. This agreement is an important indication of the Bahamas commitment to combating the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction by ensuring that Bahamian vessels are not abused by proliferators.
The PSI shipboarding agreement will facilitate cooperation between the United States and the Bahamas to prevent illicit shipments of weapons of mass destruction, their delivery systems, or related materials. It establishes procedures for obtaining approval for boarding and searching vessels suspected of carrying such items while in international waters.
More than ninety countries on six continents are PSI participants, having endorsed the PSI Statement of Interdiction Principles.
