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Port & Maritime Stakeholders participate in the Maritime Regional Exercise RECOPORT-ESA 25 in Antananarivo

February 6, 2025

The Regional Maritime Information Fusion Centre (RMIFC) based in Antananarivo, Madagascar, in partnership with the Indian Ocean Commission (COI) and the Port Management Association of Eastern and Southern Africa (PMAESA), hosted and organized a joint exercise titled RECOPORT-ESA 25.

In the activity held from 27  to 31 January 2025, Port Facility Security Officers (PFSOs) and Port Security Officers (PSOs) coming from Ports in Eastern and Southern Africa as well as the Indian Ocean (ESA-IO) region, which is the RMIFC’s primary area of interest, took part in a Table-Top Exercise (TTX).

The TTX simulated a series of maritime incidents, including stowaway situations, smuggling traffic (such as drugs), theft of goods or vessels in port areas, and illegal trafficking of wildlife and natural resources.

The main objective of the exercise was to strengthen information exchange practices between PMAESA member  ports, which is essential to enhance regional maritime safety and cooperation between states in the region, as well as to reinforce the regional maritime safety architecture known as “Safe Seas for Africa”.

Throughout the exercise, participants demonstrated their professional commitment by testing their adherence to respective national SOPs, with the aim of familiarizing themselves with interactions between national and regional level platforms in the sharing and exchange of information relating to maritime safety and security.

Additionally, The Indian Ocean Regional Information Sharing (IORIS) platform, developed by the EU funded CRIMARIO program, was deployed as the main communication tool by participants to exchange and share information among stakeholders. The IORIS platform is a web-based, maritime coordination and information-sharing tool utilized to strengthen Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) in the region.

The success of RECOPORT-ESA 25 activity underlines the importance of ongoing collaboration and information sharing in the field of maritime safety and security.

The exercise saw the participation from port & maritime stakeholders such as:

  • The Union of Comoros, through the Port of Mutsamudu Anjouan;
  • The Republic of Seychelles, through the Seychelles Ports Authority and Regional Coordination Operations Centre (RCOC);
  • The United Republic of Tanzania, through the Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA);
  • The Republic of Kenya through the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA);
  • The Republic of Madagascar through the Port of Toamasina (SPAT), Madagascar Customs Agency, Madagascar’s Navy and the Maritime Information Fusion Centre (CFIM) of Madagascar;
  • The Republic of Mauritius through the Mauritius Ports Authority (MPA);
  • The Republic of Mozambique through Port Maputo;
  • The Federal Republic of Somalia through the Somali Maritime Administration (as observer);
  • The Republic of South Africa through the Transnet National Ports Authority (as observer);

Also present during the exercise were the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC); Representatives from CRIMARIO; INTERPOL; the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) through the Port Security Project (PSP).

At the end of the 5-day exercise, Director of the RMIFC, Mr. Harifidy Andrianjaka Alex RALAIARIVONY, expressed his appreciation for the active participation in the meeting proceeding and TTX by all attendees, observers and partners. He further called upon the port authorities to consider the IORIS platform as an asset in their day-to-day work  and commended the support from the EU funded Port Security Program and Safe Seas for Africa Program.

On his part, PMAESA Secretary General, Col. Andre Ciseau called on the port authority representatives to work collaboratively in the spirit of regional cooperation in order to ensure the waters in the ESA-IO region become a shining example of safe and secure navigable waterways for other regions in the world.

Addtional reporting:
Lieutenant SAID Lavani
RMIFC Liaison Officer for Comoros

Presentations – Day 1; Day 2

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