Maritime safety conference in Stellenbosch highlights urgent need for regional cooperation

The Third International Conference on Maritime Security in the Gulf of Guinea and the Red Sea brought together maritime experts, policymakers and military leaders to address the region’s pressing security challenges, particularly piracy, illegal fishing and smuggling. It stressed the urgency for African countries to work together regionally and internationally to secure their maritime domains for economic and regional stability.

The conference was held in Stellenbosch on 5-6 September and was organised by the Royal Danish Defence College (RDDC), the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) and the Security Institute for Governance and Leadership in Africa (SIGLA) of Stellenbosch University. The conference focused on vulnerabilities, responses and initiatives to reduce insecurity in the region’s waters.

The Gulf of Guinea has become a flashpoint for global maritime security due to high levels of piracy, accounting for 90% of piracy-related kidnappings globally in 2019. Coastal states, with the assistance of international navies, have made strides in the fight against piracy since 2001, but challenges remain. Piracy tactics have evolved, including larger operational ranges, expanded geographic targets, and a shift from cargo theft to mass kidnapping for ransom. In addition, the region faces the problem of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, which threatens both the economy and food security, as evidenced by annual losses of $200 million in Ghana’s fishing sector, conference participants heard.

On the other side of the continent, the Bab al-Mandab Strait, which connects the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean, is a key transit point for global trade. Armed attacks by the Houthi militia in Yemen have disrupted key shipping routes in the Red Sea, forcing ships to reroute around the southern tip of Africa. These diversions add two weeks and 6,000 extra nautical miles to shipping, increasing global shipping costs and insurance premiums.

These developments in the Red Sea could also have implications for the Gulf of Guinea. This concern is heightened by emerging links between terrorist groups in the Sahel and transnational criminal networks.

Rear Admiral Issah Yakubu, Chief of Staff of the Ghana Navy, opened the conference with a keynote address in which he stressed the importance of secure maritime domains for the economic and regional stability of Africa. His address emphasised the importance of maritime governance and the need for African states to work with international partners to strengthen capacity building measures in the region.

In his speech, Yakubu drew attention to the persistent threat of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, where incidents of kidnapping for ransom have replaced cargo theft as the pirates’ main modus operandi. He explained how efforts by regional and international navies have yielded some success, but that new challenges have emerged.

“These new dynamics include increased operational reach from the coastline, an extension of geographic reach from the epicenter, and mass kidnappings. Pirates have shifted their focus to holding crew members hostage for ransom,” he said.

The conference also examined the broader implications of Red Sea security for Africa. Yakubu noted that “the situation in the Red Sea has direct and indirect implications for the Gulf of Guinea and the entire Atlantic coast of Africa. Increased shipping offers trading opportunities, but also significant security challenges. There are already clear indications that terrorist groups in the Sahel intend to link their activities with transnational criminal groups operating in the Gulf of Guinea.”

The Chief of the Ghanaian Naval Staff highlighted the growing threat of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, which is threatening food security in countries like Ghana, where the fishing sector provides employment to 100,000 citizens and fish provides 60% of protein intake.

“Illegal fishing in the Gulf of Guinea costs Ghana approximately $200 million annually. This threat to the fishing sector is therefore a threat to food and human security,” he stressed.

Yakubu also provided a candid assessment of the region’s efforts to address maritime insecurity, highlighting in particular the challenges of the Yaoundé Code of Conduct and its multi-layered architecture.

“The Yaoundé architecture (for maritime security) is currently under pressure and is in danger of collapsing completely,” he noted.

The Inter Regional Coordinating Centre is down to one staff member after ECOWAS and ECCAS withdrew their contributed staff without replacement. The Regional and Zonal Coordinating Centres are also facing serious staff shortages and some of the zonal centres have yet to be set up after eleven years of implementation.

“While regional centres are struggling, national maritime operational centres are generally functioning effectively and sharing information directly with each other,” he said.

He proposed to streamline the system by focusing on key regional centres. He proposed to eliminate the zonal centres and concentrate the limited resources on the Interregional Coordination Centre (ICC) and the Regional Centres (CRESMAO) in the ECOWAS region and CRESMAC in the Central African region.

Yakubu explained: “With the help of technology, these three centres should be able to coordinate cooperation throughout the Gulf of Guinea through the national maritime operational centres.”

Another initiative credited with improving security in the Gulf of Guinea is the European Union’s Coordinated Maritime Presence (CMP) and the presence of other international players in the Gulf of Guinea. The presence of foreign warships in the region is particularly critical in the far offshore areas of more than 100 nautical miles, where pirates have expanded their activities beyond the reach of most coastal navies and coast guards. However, there are concerns that these warships are not coordinating their activities with coastal authorities and regional coordination centers.

Discussing the Ghanaian Navy’s international partnerships, particularly with Denmark, Yakubu pointed to tangible improvements: “Support from the Danish Ministry of Defence, particularly the Danish Special Warfare Group through a five-year development plan, has had a significant impact on the Ghanaian Navy’s capabilities over the past three years. The Special Boat Squadron is now adequately trained to conduct maritime interdiction operations, boarding and hostage rescue from ships and in coastal areas.”

The Danish Government has also contributed to the development of the Ghana Navy’s Naval Training Command into a regional centre of excellence.

“While the challenges facing maritime security in Africa are daunting, the support of our partners, continued dialogue and the will to cooperate regionally and internationally will give us an edge over our common adversaries,” Yakubu said in his closing remarks.

Other speakers discussed topics such as regional maritime responsibilities, IUU fishing in the Gulf of Guinea, improving maritime security across Africa and the Cape Sea Route, wildlife smuggling and maritime diplomacy.

Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea and across Africa should be seen not just as a maritime problem but as part of the employment cycle of land-based crime, recruitment and people’s efforts to make a living.