Mexico, Japan and Jamaica Collaborate on Study of the Sunken City of Port Royal

October 22, 2021 | Zhane Squire  |

The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange has said an assessment meeting held today as Jamaica continues its pursuit of World Heritage inscription for the Sunken City of Port Royal was of immense cultural importance.

Minister Grange said: “The Sunken City of Port Royal is one of only three such sites in the world. The other two sites are located in Alexandria, Greece and in Bahia, Italy. The Bahia site is already a tourist attraction.

“This is a big deal! It will have a tremendous impact on our heritage tourism product for destination Jamaica as we prepare our nomination for UNESCO designation of the Sunken City of Port Royal as a World Heritage Site”, she said of the project which is a historic collaboration between Jamaica, Mexico and Japan.

Minister Grange highlighted that it was, “A game changing meeting with underwater experts, Dr. Roberto Junco from Mexico and Professor Kotaro Yamafune, from Japan who lead the team in the introduction of Photogrammetry photography of the Sunken City of Port Royal which has never been done before. This new technology will have far reaching implications for our cultural heritage and for Port Royal itself.

The Heritage Impact Assessment will take place in three phases. The first phase includes the photogrammetry which is the taking of detailed photographs of the underwater city.

Source The Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport