The World Health Organization (WHO) has approved Bermuda's ports as sanitary and competent to certify ships under new international health regulations.

Environmental Health officers at Dockyard, Hamilton and St. George's are now able to inspect incoming vessels and issue Ship Sanitation Certificates.

Health Minister Walter Roban said that aside from protecting public health, the inspection services would boost Bermuda's shipping portfolio "and maintain our significance as a mid-Atlantic maritime jurisdiction".

Bermuda's officers have been training for the past two years to get the qualification.

The new certificate replaces decades-old Deratting Exemption Certificates aimed at rodent-borne disease, such as plague.

Updated regulations require new measures at airports and ports, including care for ill passengers, quick assessment of suspected outbreaks and trained responders to public health emergencies.

Mr. Roban said Bermuda expected to implement the full set of regulations in advance of the June, 2012 deadline for WHO member states.