# Welcome Agents!

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*“For international shipping to thrive, a unified, global approach to Facilitation is vital. This is the purpose of the international treaty called the FAL Convention.*

*Since April 2019, the FAL Convention makes it mandatory for ships and ports to exchange FAL data electronically and encourages the use of the so-called “single window” concept, in which all the many agencies and authorities involved exchange data via a single point of contact. “ - Taken from the International Maritime Organization’s Website*

As part of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Barbados is mandated to implement its vision of the “single window” to ensure we maintain compliant with global standards as it pertains to facilitating trade.

Vessels entering the Barbados Port must provide numerous copies of paperwork to different local authorities. In many cases, a lot of this information is duplicated, and managing it is an onerous administrative task.

The Maritime Single Window concept as outlined by the IMO seeks to greatly improve the process involved in a ship’s arrival, stay, and departure.

Agents, as well as local authorities (Port, Health, Customs and Immigration) now have one central system that allows them to electronically manage the Clearance process of vessels as outlined in this guide.


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