Caribbean maritime safety, search and rescue, water safety and resilience.

Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

Last updated: 2 July 2026

The Caribbean Maritime Safety Association Incorporated (“CMSA”, “we”, “us” or “our”) respects your privacy and is committed to handling personal data responsibly.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store and protect personal data when you visit CMSA Insights, read or share our articles, contact us, subscribe to updates, submit material, or otherwise interact with CMSA Insights.

CMSA Insights is an editorial and information platform operated by the Caribbean Maritime Safety Association Incorporated.

1. Who we are

Data controller:
Caribbean Maritime Safety Association Incorporated (CMSA)
Non-profit registration number: C0406/2024
Dockyard Drive, English Harbour, St. Paul’s, Antigua and Barbuda, West Indies
Email: info@sea-safety.org

For privacy questions, requests or concerns, please contact us using the email address above and use the subject line: Privacy Request.

2. What this policy covers

This policy applies to CMSA Insights, including its articles, reports, briefings, newsletters, contact forms, subscription forms and related pages operated by CMSA.

It does not apply to third-party websites, platforms or services linked from CMSA Insights. Those services have their own privacy policies and CMSA is not responsible for their privacy practices.

3. Personal data we may collect

Depending on how you use CMSA Insights, we may collect the following information.

Information you give us

This may include:

  • your name;
  • email address;
  • organisation, role or professional background;
  • information included in an enquiry, feedback form or message;
  • subscription preferences;
  • material, comments, photographs or other content submitted for possible publication or review; and
  • any other information you choose to provide.

Please do not send medical information, casualty details, safeguarding information, personal SAR records, operationally sensitive information, security-sensitive vessel information, or other confidential material through general website forms unless CMSA has specifically asked you to do so and provided an appropriate secure method.

CMSA Insights must not be used to report an emergency or request emergency response.

Information collected automatically

When you visit CMSA Insights, we may collect limited technical information, including:

  • IP address;
  • browser type and version;
  • device type and operating system;
  • pages viewed, links followed and time spent on the site;
  • referring website or search engine;
  • approximate location derived from IP address;
  • date and time of access; and
  • cookie or similar technology identifiers.

We use this information to operate, secure, understand and improve CMSA Insights. Where possible, analytics information is reviewed in aggregated form.

Information used in editorial content

CMSA Insights may publish names, professional roles, statements, images or other information relating to individuals where this is relevant to a legitimate educational, public-safety, research, operational-learning or editorial purpose.

This information may come from public reports, official statements, organisations, contributors, interviews, material supplied for publication or other lawful sources. We will take reasonable care to ensure information is relevant, accurate in context and handled sensitively, particularly where safety, safeguarding or vulnerable people may be involved.

4. How we use personal data

We may use personal data to:

  • operate, maintain and secure CMSA Insights;
  • respond to enquiries, feedback and requests;
  • manage newsletter or update subscriptions;
  • understand how visitors use the site and improve articles, navigation and accessibility;
  • review, edit, publish or manage contributor material;
  • prevent misuse, fraud, spam, malicious activity or security incidents;
  • maintain records of communications and subscriptions;
  • comply with legal obligations; and
  • establish, exercise or defend legal claims where necessary.

CMSA does not sell, rent or trade personal data.

We do not make decisions about individuals solely through automated processing where those decisions would have legal or similarly significant effects.

5. Legal basis for using personal data

Where data-protection law requires a legal basis, CMSA will normally rely on one or more of the following:

  • Legitimate interests: operating a secure and useful safety-information platform, responding to enquiries, improving CMSA Insights, protecting our systems, managing editorial content and maintaining appropriate organisational records.
  • Consent: where you choose to subscribe to updates, submit content for publication, or agree to non-essential cookies or similar technologies.
  • Legal obligation: where we are required to retain or disclose information by law.
  • Legal claims: where information is needed to establish, exercise or defend a legal claim.

You are not normally required by law or contract to provide personal data to CMSA. However, we may be unable to respond to an enquiry or provide a requested update if you do not provide the information needed for that purpose.

6. Cookies, analytics and embedded content

CMSA Insights may use cookies and similar technologies to make the site work, protect forms and services from misuse, remember preferences, understand visitor use and support embedded content.

Cookies may include:

  • Strictly necessary cookies, used for core site functions, security and spam prevention.
  • Preference cookies, used to remember settings where available.
  • Analytics cookies, used to understand how CMSA Insights is used.
  • Third-party cookies, which may be set by embedded content such as videos, maps, social-media posts or external tools.

Where required by applicable law, CMSA will seek your consent before placing non-essential cookies or similar technologies on your device. You may also control cookies through your browser settings. Blocking some cookies may affect how parts of the site work.

Our cookie notice or consent tool, where provided, will contain the most current information about non-essential cookies and relevant service providers.

7. Who we may share data with

CMSA may share personal data only where necessary and appropriate with:

  • website hosting, domain, cloud-storage and technical-support providers;
  • email, newsletter, form-management, spam-prevention and analytics providers;
  • professional advisers, insurers or auditors where necessary;
  • public authorities, regulators or emergency services where required by law or necessary to protect life, safety or legal rights; and
  • other parties where you have given clear consent or where disclosure is otherwise lawful.

Service providers may only process personal data for the services they provide to CMSA and must handle it appropriately.

8. International transfers

CMSA operates from Antigua and Barbuda, while some website, email, analytics or cloud-service providers may process information in other countries.

Where personal data is transferred internationally, CMSA will take reasonable steps to ensure that appropriate safeguards are used where required by applicable law.

9. How long we keep personal data

We keep personal data only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected.

As a general guide:

  • enquiries and correspondence are normally kept for up to 24 months after the matter has been closed;
  • newsletter information is kept until you unsubscribe or ask us to remove it;
  • minimal unsubscribe records may be retained for a limited period to ensure we honour your request;
  • security and technical logs are normally retained for up to 12 months;
  • analytics information is retained in line with the settings of the relevant service provider, normally for no longer than 26 months where CMSA controls that setting;
  • contributor and publication records may be kept for as long as the relevant article, report or publication remains in CMSA’s archive; and
  • records may be kept longer where necessary for legal, safeguarding, accounting, audit, dispute-resolution or security purposes.

10. Your rights

Depending on the law that applies to you, you may have the right to:

  • request access to your personal data;
  • request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal data;
  • request deletion of personal data in certain circumstances;
  • ask us to restrict how we use your data;
  • object to certain uses of your personal data, including direct marketing;
  • withdraw consent at any time where we rely on consent;
  • request a copy of information you have provided in a portable format, where applicable; and
  • complain to the appropriate data-protection authority in your country of residence, place of work or location of the issue.

To exercise any of these rights, contact CMSA at info@sea-safety.org with the subject line Privacy Request. We may need to verify your identity before responding.

Requests relating to information published in an article will be considered carefully. A request for removal does not automatically mean that material will be removed, particularly where publication remains necessary for accuracy, public safety, education, legal compliance or legitimate editorial purposes.

11. Children and young people

CMSA Insights is primarily an information and editorial platform. Children under 16 should not subscribe to newsletters or submit personal information without the knowledge and agreement of a parent or guardian.

If CMSA becomes aware that personal data has been collected from a child inappropriately, we will take reasonable steps to remove it.

12. Security

CMSA uses reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration or disclosure.

However, no website, email system or internet transmission can be guaranteed completely secure. You should avoid sending confidential, sensitive or operationally sensitive information through general website forms or unencrypted email.

13. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to CMSA Insights, our services, legal requirements or privacy practices.

The latest version will always be published on the CMSA website with the date of the most recent update.

14. Contact us

For questions about this policy or how CMSA handles personal data, contact:

Caribbean Maritime Safety Association Incorporated
Dockyard Drive, English Harbour, St. Paul’s, Antigua and Barbuda, West Indies
Email: info@sea-safety.org
Subject line: Privacy Request