THE MARITIME POWER OF HONDURAS
Honduras is a bioceanic country that has maritime territory both in the Atlantic Ocean and in the Pacific and is framed in its Political Constitution, having in that sense a great maritime extension of approximately twice as many of its terrestrial territory.
For nations such as Honduras that has an extensive maritime territory it is essentialNation Sea Control.
To achieve maritime power that allows the use and use of the sea, it is then that nations must develop a maritime strategy that allows them to achieve this objective, which according to several naval authors and strategists must be according to the reality of countries in countriesRelationship to its geographical position and resources.
In that sense, it is evident that a fundamental part of that role is its naval power that is determined by force (naval media) and the geographical position, these factors are enhanced by the strategic will that rulers must have in developing strategies, policies, policiesand budget to develop the naval power of nations that are then able to exercise control of its national waters.
There are several authors who have tried to establish the elements of maritime power among them the French admiral Pierre Lacoste who based on the concepts of Admiral Mahan highpositions and a marine.
In that order of ideas, the analysis of this essay is focused on one of the aforementioned elements that is “shipyards and naval industry” which is part of the maritime power of a nation, also considers it as means that are directly related to the useof the sea and its resources in national development, presenting the importance of enhancing that element in Honduras which will contribute to the development of the maritime power of the nation.
DEVELOPING
The role of modern armed ones, according to Richard Till is to be able to protect their maritime interests in their territory so it must be able to conduct low intensity operations to emerging threats such as piracy, drug trafficking and trafficof people, that is to say a role of control of those illicit, this is called a police role in the sea, without neglecting the constitutional tasks of sovereignty exercise.
That said there is no doubt that naval media are a fundamental element in the development of naval power, in that sense Honduras in recent years has begun to improve this aspect with the acquisition of new boats beginning in the year of 2013Through a lease contract with the purchase of two coast patrol boats (CPV) of the Damen shipyard, then in 2017 a logistics and cabotage support (BAL-C) ship of the shipyard of Cotecmar in Cartagena de Indias de Indias was acquired, Colombia and today is waiting for the arrival of a patrol vessel of exclusive economic zone (OPV) that is being built in Israel.
On the other hand, the armed ones have a classification of Eric Groove agreement who in 1990 categorized the armed according to the capacities to fulfill the naval missions, these go from 1 to 9 being the largest possible qualification 1:
- Armada for the projection of greater global – complete
- Armada for the projection of the largest global – partial
- Medium global force projection armed
- Medium Regional Force Projection Navy
- Adjacent force projection armed
- Maritime Territorial Defense Navy
- Coastal Territorial Defense Armed
- Armed police surveillance
- Symbolic armed
According to that definition Honduras can be located in that category between number 8 and 9, however with the acquisition of the mentioned means it can become an Navy category 7, Navy of coastal territorial defense.
In spite of the above, it is noticed that this classification not only depends on the naval media or the amount of steel that move through those waters but it is necessary to know if these means are enough to control their spaces.
It is for the above that the Naval Force of Honduras must be able to provide the appropriate maintenance to its surface units, which are the fundamental pillar of the national naval power, for this then the installed capabilities of shipyard must be taken to vary theboats and perform the respective maintenance.
This is where the Naval Repairs Center that is created with the objective of providing maintenance to the vessels of the Naval Force of Honduras in the year of 1988, with 150 -tons Levante capabilities, however with the passing with the passing with the passing with the passing with the passing with the passing with the passing, however, with the passing with the passingFrom the years it was decreasing its capacities and to some extent obsolete, considering the new vessels that the naval force has acquired in recent years reflecting this in the amount of vessels that are not operational that is a considerable number.
As part of the Damen CPV -type vessels agreement, the repowering of the Naval Repairs Center is in process, planning to raise the capacities up to 250 tons, in addition at some point it was thought that it had a naval construction capacity added toThe repair.
It is important to mention that this maintenance center was conceived to be a sustainable car through the sale of repair services and stranded to the country’s fishing fleet sector, however by various factors with the migration of the qualified hand migration to the private companyand obsolescence of some teams these capacities have been diminished and reducing their operability to a minimum.
That is why the urgent need to take action on the matter arises, so the authorities of the Naval Force of Honduras rightly managed to include in the agreement to acquire the CPV -type vessels mentioned above the repowering of this maintenance center.
In spite of this, it is prevailing that the naval force is an influential part in the administration of this new shipyard with a management model oriented to meet the maintenance needs of surface and sale units of services to the national and regional fishing fleet.
With this auto management model, income generation would be achieved to guarantee the maintenance of all the vessels of the Naval Force of Honduras thereby achieving a naval power capable of fulfilling its role that is to protect the maritime interests of the State asThe thinker Richard Hill states in his postulates.
On the other hand, the Naval Repairs Center as part of the shipyards and naval industry constitutes in itself a maritime interest of the State, so the State is responsible for promoting it. This could be taken through the Sustainable self-self-Managing Management Model that will be transferred in economic benefits to the State of Honduras due to the aspects that are explained in the following paragraphs.
In the first place, with the impulse of the new naval force shipyard, important benefits in economic matters will be achieved for the state of Honduras especially in budgetary aspects, however it is understood that if an initial investment is necessary until reaching the point of return.
Secondly, a window of opportunities is displayed for the Naval Repairs Center to receive part of the countryof shrimp, snail, scale and lobster generating important income as well as sources of employment.
These vessels carry out their maintenance in some facilities of small shipyards in the cities of La Ceiba and Roatán, which are dedicated to minor and some older repairs according to limited capacities.
On the other hand, the naval industry is not only repair oriented, in fact it is more related to naval construction, so it would be important to start developing naval construction projects of minor boats for that item.
In order for the naval force shipyard to obtain construction capacities it is necessary.
The Naval Force of Honduras is called to be the entity that leads the impulse of the naval industry in the nation as the German Vice Admiral Wolfgang Wegener said: “The Navy must illustrate politics, regarding the imperative naval power. These thoughts cannot start from anyone but marine officers;They are the only ones who know and make them guilty if they do not fight to extend this understanding ".
From this thought then the premise of the role of sea men in raising maritime awareness in the inhabitants of the country is based on more sea men and an element then contributing to this is promoting the naval industry and shipyards which is what will be achievedWith the empowerment of the Naval Repairs Center.
Another fundamental aspect that justifies the need for the participation of the Naval Force in the impulse of the country’s shipyard industry through the Naval Repairs Center is to guarantee the safety of life in the sea.
Honduras is a member of the International Maritime Organization and has ratified a series of instruments of the organization among which are: International Convention on Archaeo de Ship, International Agreement for the Prevention of Pollution by Ships (Annex I/II) and the International ConventionTo prevent the security of Huma A in the Sea, 1974.
Similarly, naval construction as well as ship repairs is governed by different standards and procedures of ship classification societies which, according to the OMI resolution. 739 prescribes authorization to recognized organizations to act in the name of the administration.
In general terms, the essence of the agreements and regulations of the classification societies is to guarantee the good practices in the field of naval construction with the objective of ensuring naval vessels and artifacts that comply with the safety standards of the people and contamination control of the pollution of the contamination of the contamination of the contamination of thesea.
As mentioned previously if there are certain repair facilities in Honduras especially in the cities of the CEIBA and Roatán, which perform maintenance to vessels in the country’s commercial fleet.
The regulatory entity of these shipyards is the General Directorate of Merchant Marine according to what is framed in the Merchant Marine Law regulates the maritime activities of the country, however this law is oriented to more administrative and industrial safety regulations of the operation of the operation of the operation of the operation of the operation of the operation of the operation of the operation of the operation of the operation of the operation of the operation of the operation of the operation of the operation ofThe shipyards. Although certain practices framed in some international standards are followed and meet.
In recent years there have been several incidents of vessels of vessels dedicated to fishing, which have not been clarified by the reasons for these accidents, in response to that the international maritime organization through the Navy General Directorate of the Merchant MarineHe has carried out supervisions in the field of counter-capital equipment, however there is the possibility of bad repair practices carried out in these shipyards.
In that order of ideas it is prevailing that there is a better control in the work of the shipyards in terms of quality and safety, so it is necessary to establish a legal framework that allows to supervise these aspects, in the same way procedures and legal responsibility to the ownersof the shipyards, which must be constituted in an organization of shipyards of the country with the objective of carrying out the good construction practices contemplated in the international agreements and rules of the classification societies, being the most suitable in leading them the State through theNaval Repairs Center as representative of the State of Honduras that must be guarantor of the safety of people and goods.
Leave feedback