Issue 7, December 2023
Welcome!
Reporting to you on a selection of our activities this past half-year in contributing to improving maritime security in West Africa, as SWAIMS heads to its close. Read on!
Contents
1. Editorial
2. Events
3. Activities
4. Announcements
1. Editorial
Seven trawlers arrested inside the Gambia’s seven-mile conservation zone – How SWAIMS is supporting naval operations
The waters stretching from Senegal to Guinea Bissau form part of the Canary Current Large Marine Ecosystem. Fed by cold water upwelling, these are some of the most productive fisheries in the world. Coastal waters are the essential breeding and nursery grounds that are often under protection. The Gambia’s coast boasts one of the richest concentrations of marine life feeding on the nutrients borne by River Gambia. During the day, the government-delineated protected area is widely respected by the fleet of mostly foreign-owned vessels that hover along the boundary. But when darkness falls, many switch off their Automatic Identifier System (AIS) and cross the line. Literally and metaphorically.
The Gambian authorities have been struggling to protect dwindling stocks. In the Gambia, Senegal and their neighbouring landlocked countries, fish prices keep rising while the fish are getting smaller. These two inverse and alarming ‘red-alert’ factors are clear indicators of unsustainable fishing practice.
During a consultative visit in February 2022 by a team from SWAIMS and the ECOWAS Maritime Cell, staff from the Gambia’s Ministry for Fisheries and Water Resources discussed the different remedial actions they had taken. Among them:
- trawlers now have to carry observers to keep a log on their movement and catch;
- all vessels must sell 10% of the catch on the Gambian market; and,
- the opening of a Regional Monitoring, Control and Surveillance Centre (RMCSC) by the Sub-Regional Fisheries Commission.
Most effective, however, are the inter-agency patrols, when Fisheries inspectors ride on naval vessels to inspect trawlers suspected of breaching the law. But harder to come by are robust intelligence-gathering, sourcing appropriate material and equipment, and the organisational will to do more.
Forearmed with knowledge – from many prior joint activities – on the challenges experienced by the Gambia navy, the SWAIMS team mobilised the resources to support MARSURPOL Gambia. First was a briefing session on 3rd October 2023, during which officers who just a few weeks before had been with British Royal Navy ship HMS Trent brought their newly acquired skills to bear.
The Gambian navy operates from the same jetty as fisheries. This means that every time a naval patrol is launched, there is the possibility that informers for the fishing companies contact fishing vessels out at sea and alert them to clear the area. It was suspected that such an alert happened during the operation in Sierra Leone in August 2023. To circumvent these leaks and alerts, Cap Modou Jallow, operational commander, suggested bringing the operation forward. The first boat, Loms 52, therefore departed at 00:30 hrs on 5th October.
Within an hour of leaving the jetty, Loms 52 came upon the first vessel inside the protected zone. The commander of the ship was contacted and the boarding party comprising naval personnel and a Fisheries Department representative conducted the inspection. The vessel was found to be in breach of the law and required to return to the jetty. Upon arrival, the ship’s papers were confiscated and the vessel prohibited from returning to sea.
After the boarding party returned, Loms 52 resumed her patrol and soon came upon another ship inside the reservation zone and again requested boarding. Once again, the vessel was found to be in breach of the law and required to return to the jetty. As day broke at 5:30 am, the Taipei left the jetty and set course for the northern border, where she identified two trawlers engaged in IUU (illegal, unreported and unregulated) fishing.
By the end of the morning, the two patrol boats had arrested seven vessels in total. All of these had been caught fishing inside the protected seven-mile zone. All of the vessels had an observer from the fisheries department on board. In one case, the observer had falsified the logbook to show that the trawler was in Senegalese waters.
In the days that followed, charges were brought against the operators of all seven vessels. A week later, the first law-breaker admitted fault and was fined 1.5 million Gambian dalasi (€21,838). The other cases are being followed closely.
We trust for a conviction of all the wrongdoers in the Gambia’s continued bid to protect the country’s fisheries and maritime space.
2. Events
Liberia validates its National Maritime Security Strategy
SWAIMS supported the Liberia Maritime Authority (LIMA) in the last stages of finalising and validating the country’s National Maritime Security Strategy (NMSS).
The NMSS journey began in 2019, when the International Maritime Organization (IMO) provided technical assistance and collaborated with Liberia’s Department of Maritime Security in drafting the NMSS.
Recently, a Technical Working Group (TWG) of about 15 technical experts and sta keholders from different government departments and agencies was formed. Between August and early September 2023, the TWG held a series of SWAIMS-supported meetings over four days to critically review and rework the document.
And then in mid-September (13th to 14th), an NMSS Technical Review and Validation Workshop was held to strengthen and ensure inclusiveness and harmony, build synergies, and solicit broader inputs from every facet of the Liberian maritime security sector and the Liberia International Ship & Corporate Registry.
The workshop of about 40 participants brought together relevant stakeholders in the maritime security sector. The stakeholders reviewed then unanimously endorsed the NMSS.
The resultant document was then submitted for review by the Joint Security Council, after which it will be presented to the President for assent.
More on the validation workshop | Media coverage
Mauritania matters for ECOWAS’ maritime security: Engaging civil society
The SWAIMS Technical Assistance Team (TAT) organised a two-day workshop in Nouakchott, Mauritania, from 22nd to 23rd August on the topic Engagement of civil society organisations in the fight against maritime insecurity in Mauritania.
Twenty-five participants – mainly from professional organisations in the fishing sector – attended the workshop. Its main objectives were to:
- raise awareness of the need to combat maritime insecurity in Mauritania;
- highlight the negative consequences of maritime insecurity; and,
- raise awareness of the likely threats posed by offshore gas development in Mauritania.
The opening ceremony was co-chaired by:
- Mr Mohamed Yeslim Mohamed Elhacen, Deputy Director General of the Agence Mauritanienne des Affaires Maritimes (AMAM), representing the Minister of Fisheries and Maritime Economy;
- Col Abdourahmane Dieng, PhD, Head of the Regional Security Division, ECOWAS Commission; and,
- Mr Jean-Marc Dewerpe Alvaro, First Counsellor, Head of Cooperation at the European Union Delegation in Mauritania.
The three co-Chairs of the opening ceremony congratulated SWAIMS TAT on extending the project's activities to a non-ECOWAS member state (Mauritania). They urged participants to take ownership of the workshop's content, emphasising that Mauritania is not immune to maritime threats, nor to concerns on maritime insecurity. Significantly, with the future start-up of the gigantic Senegalese–Mauritanian Grand Tortue Ahmeyim project, Mauritania’s economy could soon be dominated by the exploitation of offshore gas deposits.
Three experts presented four topics:
In the light of the presentations and ensuing discussions, the participants made several recommendations on involving artisanal fishing professionals in decision-making on oil and gas activities off the Mauritanian coast, and financial support for artisanal fishers and fish processors. More
3. Activities
ECOWAS Commission meeting on maritime security and safety
The SWAIMS Technical Assistance Team (TAT) attended the ECOWAS Stakeholders Meeting on Maritime Security and Safety convened by the ECOWAS Commission in Accra, Ghana,from 5th to 7th September 2023. It was opened by the Minister for National Security, Hon Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong.
The meeting’s aim was to strengthen coordination and collaboration of the ECOWAS maritime security architecture, and to strengthen the fight against illicit maritime activities.
SWAIMS Team Leader Axel Klein gave an update on TAT activities and the status of equipment delivery to the maritime centres in the ECOWAS region, while Camões IP briefed the meeting on the tender process; the training of trainers course in Lisbon, Portugal (more on that below); and ongoing training and needs assessment across various ECOWAS countries. More
Camões IP conducts maritime security training of trainers for ECOWAS coastal states
In Portugal, the Training Schools of the Navy and the National Maritime Authority are currently hosting the Trainers’ Course for the SWAIMS Project. This course began on 18th September and will run until 30th November.
Attending are 36 trainees from the 12 ECOWAS coastal countries. The goal is to equip them with specific competencies necessary for the safe and efficient operation of semi-rigid surveillance vessels across various mission types.
UNODC convenes experts to examine extending the Handover Agreement to other maritime crimes
A meeting of independent experts was convened in Lagos, Nigeria from 16th to 19th May 2023 to consider the draft Supplementary Act Relating to the Suppression of Illicit Maritime Activities in the ECOWAS region.
This work was carried out in the framework of the implementation of the ECOWAS Integrated Maritime Strategy (EIMS) in collaboration with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) through the SWAIMS) Project.
The objective of this draft Supplementary Act is to promote the cooperation of ECOWAS member states through the strengthening of the operational legal framework to combat illicit activities committed at sea.
In his opening remarks, Col Dieng Abdourahmane, PhD, Head of the Regional Security Division of the ECOWAS Commission, recalled the adoption of the Supplementary Act on the Conditions For The Transfer of Persons Suspected of Having Committed Acts of Piracy and the property and evidence associated with them by the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government at its 61st Ordinary Session in July 2022, and the significant drop in piracy In light of the current situation.
It is now deemed necessary to put in place additional measures that would provide a range of options and innovative solutions to address all forms of maritime security problems in the maritime domain through enhanced cooperation.
See media reports here and here, as well as subsequent related workshops in July–August on combating maritime crime and enhancing maritime law enforcement in this post by EU Navel Force.
4. Announcements
- CRESMAO Open Day, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, 29th November – SWAIMS supported this lively event showcasing the Yaoundé Architecture. Hundreds of members of the public were able to learn about the efforts by national governments, the ECOWAS Commission and the partnership of the EU to secure the maritme domain.
- G7++ Friends of the Gulf of Guinea, Dakar, Senegal, 5th–7th December – The SWAIMS Team Leader shared lessons learnt from SWAIMS implementation, while Dr Ife Okafor-Yarwood presented her work on the contribution of civil society to maritime security.
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