The Security Institute for Governance and Leadership in Africa (SIGLA) at Stellenbosch University (SU in partnership with the U.S. Embassy's Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) and Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) presented the First International Workshop on Combating Maritime Threats off Africa in a planned biennial series on addressing transnational security issues in Stellenbosch last week.

The deterioration of order at sea, transnational organised crime, narcotics and illicit trafficking, terrorism and moving weapons of mass destruction, were some of the topics discussed. The main aim of the workshop was to emphasise and strengthen collaborative initiatives to mitigate maritime threats through policy making, law enforcement and capacity building.   

Delegates from the African Union, Cameroon, Denmark, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Namibia, Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, the UN, US, and UK attended the 3 day event.

The Charge d'Affairs from the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria, Ms Jessye Lapenn, and SU's Vice Rector: Strategic Initiatives and Internationalisation, Prof Hester Klopper, opened the workshop on Wednesday 3 May. Lapenn said: "Keeping ports safe, combatting illicit trafficking, and ensuring shipping lanes remain open, creates a solid foundation for cooperation across a range of sectors that require us to move people, products, and equipment between our countries. The importance of the 'Blue Economy' for Africa cannot be understated – it provides food, livelihood, and significant means of transport in Africa's global trade effort. 

"The United States Government stands with our maritime partners in Africa. And we are dedicated to strengthening our relationships with those committed to maritime security in Africa so that we can achieve greater security and prosperity across the Continent."

Prof Klopper in turn emphasized the importance of Higher Education institutions in collaborating with governments and civil society partners to find solutions to challenges such as maritime crime. "Meetings such as these lay the foundation for engagement where universities and other partners can collaborate and work towards a better future."

In his keynote address Alan Cole Head of the Global Maritime Crime Programme, UNODC, gave an overview of four main maritime crimes that are plaguing the African seas: Drug smuggling, particularly heroin into East Africa; human trafficking and smuggling; illegal fishing and piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.

According to Cole increased law enforcement on land and the low number of successful prosecutions of perpetrators contributes to the smuggling of drugs at sea. "For the most part drugs that are found aboard vessels are merely dumped at sea, but this does not disrupt the trade, we need to find ways to confiscate the vessels and prosecute the people behind the smuggling."

On the topic of human trafficking and the smuggling of migrants, Cole said the condition of the vessels in which people are transported are often very bad and that many die making the trip. "In 2016 a total of 181 000 people were trafficked across the Mediterranean Sea at a cost of $1000 per capita.

"These migrants are often then taken as far as Lybia where their families are phoned and extorted for even more money in exchange for completing the journey. Many are killed if they cannot pay more money."

According to Professor Francois Vrëy, Professor of Military Strategy in the SU Faculty of Military Sciences, the workshop aims to "update delegates from various African countries on the diversity of maritime crime off Africa, expose them to the interface between cooperation, awareness, early warning and good governance, and have them participate in a take-away activity framing their most important learning experiences," he said.

"Ultimately we want to contribute to building a common and cooperative African body of institutions and officials that understand and are able to play lead roles in the mitigation of criminal threats at and from the sea."

According to Vrëy, the importance of the Blue Economy – an alternative economic model for sustainable development that puts the oceans at its centre – faces a rapid rise in organised crime activities perpetrated by dangerous international criminal organisations often working hand-in-glove with political and other non-state actors.

"Current threats in African waters reside alongside practices tied into terrorism, smuggling of goods and generally a deterioration of order at sea through criminal expansions. Africa stands at the cross-roads of exploiting what its blue economy offers and beating back maritime crime and the beneficiaries of threats that feed off radicalisation and governmental weaknesses."

Caption: Prof Francois Vrëy, Professor of Military Strategy in the SU Faculty of Military Sciences; Alan Cole Head of the Global Maritime Crime Programme, UNODC; Commadore George Tsogkas from NMIOTC and Capt Francois Blaine from SIGLA. Photo: Anton Jordaan