Maritime Security Workshop in Djibouti

Sharing information among the various different agencies involved is vital for maintaining maritime security, especially where there is a strong multi-national element.

That’s why International Maritime Organization (IMO)  is running a workshop in Djibouti on maritime security in the Gulf of Aden and western Indian Ocean area.

The participants (from Comoros, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, United Republic of Tanzania, United Arab Emirates and Yemen)  are developing best practices to help develop common templates and standard operating procedures for sharing security-related information including on maritime crimes, legal frameworks, training programmes and national initiatives.

These templates will form part of a toolkit to support collaboration between the existing reporting framework under the Djibouti Code of Conduct DCoC (a regional agreement against maritime crime in the Gulf of Aden and western Indian Ocean area which IMO helped to establish) and newly established centres in Madagascar, Seychelles and Saudi Arabia.

The activity supports the commitment by Member States in the region to build response capabilities at both a national and regional level, a vital step towards achieving a more safe and secure maritime environment.

The workshop is taking place at the Djibouti Regional Training Centre in Doraleh (3-7 March) and run with important partner agencies UNODC, MSCHOA/UKMTO, EU CRIMARIO and United States Naval Forces Africa.

It brings together personnel from national maritime information sharing centres, joint maritime operation centres, maritime rescue coordination centres and other key international partners.