For most countries in Africa, limited maritime capacities remain a challenge for law enforcement agencies. In the quest to expose participants to relevant and current skills and best practices in the domain of maritime security and transnational organized crimes within the broader African context, the KAIPTC organized the fourteenth edition of the Maritime Security and Transnational Organized Crime (MSTOC 22-1). Like previously held MSTOC courses, this session was funded by the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany. The two-week course sought to build/enhance the capacities of maritime security actors and other relevant stakeholders in Africa in general, and West and Central Africa in particular, on critical issues pertaining to maritime security and transnational organised crime.
As part of the course package, there were field visits to the Headquarters of the Ghana Maritime Authority in Accra to observe the operations of the Vessel Traffic Monitoring and Information Systems (VTMIS). Participants also visited the Tema Port of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, the ECOWAS Multinational Maritime Coordination Centre (MMCC) at the Christianborg Castle and a Sea Trip on board Ghana Navy Ship BLIKA at the Eastern Naval Command, Tema. The visits gave participants practical experiences and appreciation of the concepts and theories discussed in class sessions.
The course had 30 participants from 10 countries in West and Central Africa, selected from the Military, Police, the media, Maritime related government agencies and Civil society Organisations in the maritime space, in attendance.
Some months after the course, a beneficiary shared the impact of the course; “Personally, as an instructor at the School of Maritime Operations at the Naval Training Command (NAVTRAC), the course has equipped me sufficiently to handle modules such as United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and Smuggling Trends. I recently taught these modules during a training organized for some civilian Maritime Law Enforcement Agencies within the Zone F region organized by the UNODC at NAVTRAC. I have also built a strong network of maritime security conscious actors that I will leverage on in my current and future operational engagements.” – Lt Cdr Kofi Abaka Anaman of the Ghana Navy.