An analysis of the maritime insecurity situation revealed the Gulf of Guinea region is deficient in coordinated and collaborated maritime law enforcement capabilities and capacity at national, zonal and regional levels.
Dr Jethro W. Brooks Jr., the Acting Vice-Chancellor of the Regional Maritime University (RMU), said the situation had created gaps in the region’s response process to the benefits of the criminals.
Dr Brooks was speaking at the closing ceremony of the Regional Maritime Operational Training Course dubbed ” Maritime Affairs and Security Course” in Accra.
The six-week course aimed at building the capacity and competences of staff and personnel of maritime focus agencies and institutions across the West African Region in combating crimes in the Gulf of Guinea.
Participants were drawn from various security agencies from Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria and Togo.
The course is under the Support to the West Africa Integrated Maritime Strategy (SWAIMS) programme launched in 2016 with support from the European Union.
It is to improve regional governance and legal framework, prosecution and adjudication of maritime crimes, law enforcement, operational capabilities, regional training and responses to the threats and transnational cooperation.
The Acting Vice-Chancellor said there was the need for increased collaboration, coordination and information sharing among stakeholders in the fight against maritime crimes.
He said a safe, secure maritime operating environment promoted economic growth and enabled development to flourish, thereby ensuring durable peace.
He said maintaining a vibrant national economy required attention to the maritime sector as landlocked States depended on the maritime access of their neighbours for their own import and exports as well general economic well-being.
“Thus, a safe and secure maritime environment is vital to the health of the overall economy of each state, the region and the African continent,” he added.
The Acting Vice-Chancellor said the activities within the maritime sector included a variety of stakeholders and represented a range of responsibilities that were important to any concept of collective maritime security and safety.
He expressed the hope that participants would use the knowledge, experience, and the associated network gained to make a difference wherever they would find themselves.
He urged the participants to seize the opportunity to maintain the network that they had established and to build trust for better coordination and information sharing.
Dr Brooks Jr. said the RMU would continue to deliver quality and tailor-made operational training in support of the regional fight against maritime criminality.
He commended the ECOWAS Commission, EU and SWAIMS project team for their continued collaboration.
Mr Augustus Addy-Lamptey, the SWAIMS Project Coordinator, said a decline in piracy was partly attributable to the increased cooperation, collaboration, and coordination among Gulf of Guinea States.
He said it could also be attributed to capacity building of maritime professional, support from international partners, and the various initiatives launched over the years to combat maritime crimes.
He urged stakeholders to keep their eye on the ball since emerging maritime threats were still lingering.
Participants were taken through introduction to Maritime Security Environment, Maritime Security Functional Area, Legal and Policy Frameworks on Maritime Security, Blue Economy and Marine Environment, Martime Crisis Management, Fisheries Sector Security and Governance.
Others are Yaounde Architecture information Sharing and Incident Reporting System, Managing Complexities in Martime Safety and Security and Familiarization on Maritime Safety
