The U.S. Coast Guard’s Mission to Africa

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Thetis (WMEC-910) is halfway through a 90-day mission to Africa’s Atlantic coast and already the crew has helped enforce fishing rights, combat smuggling and piracy and rescue two fishermen who had been declared dead.

Operating off the coast of Africa is not the typical patrol route for a U.S. Coast Guard cutter, but the mission is the same, Cmdr. Randall Chong, commanding officer of Thetis, told USNI News during a recent satellite call from the ship. Thetis is assisting partner nations in better understanding the seas off their shores and helping secure their national interests while preventing regional problems from growing into more significant issues that could reach U.S. borders.

“Last month we were operating off the coast of Sierra Leone and one of my young lookouts, she saw a guy waiving, two guys waiving their life jackets,” Chong said. “They had no food, no water; they were actually starting to drink some sea water. We escorted them back to Sierra Leone and when we brought them back, we were told by their government they were declared dead two days before that.”

The scenario is relatively common among the fishing fleet, Chong said. Fishermen head out to sea on 22-foot boats, powered by old outboard motors and without navigation aids or communication links to shore. Sierra Leone also doesn’t have the resources to mount considerable search efforts at sea.

Thetis, a 270-foot Famous-class medium endurance cutter based in Key West, Fla., is made for finding small ships at sea. The cutter and crew specialize in maritime law enforcement operations such as counternarcotics and human smuggling missions. Their three-month deployment to Africa’s Gulf of Guinea region is intended to share their expertise with African maritime nations.

“The Coast Guard is a unique fit for this type of mission with our law enforcement authorities and our competencies,” Lt. David Zwirblis, operations officer on Thetis, told USNI News. “That’s really what these nations are looking for; they’re trying to secure their maritime domains. That’s what their navies are doing. Their economies are really intertwined with the maritime security of the region.”

Mission to Africa

Thetis departed Key West for Africa in late February, making it the first Coast Guard cutter to deploy in support of U.S Africa Command since 2012 and the first to participate in an African maritime exercise since 2011, according to Coast Guard news releases. Thetis participated in exercise Obangame Express and made port calls in Nigeria, São Tome and Principe and Cote d’Ivoire, among other work during the deployment.

U.S. military engagement with African nations is critical to protecting U.S. interests and helping stabilize governments on the continent, Adm. James Foggo, the commander of U.S. Forces Africa, explained during a recent edition of his podcast.

Having the U.S. Coast Guard deploy to Africa is useful, Foggo said, because the U.S. Coast Guard’s maritime law enforcement mission aligns with what he said African nations frequently cite as their most significant needs: enhancing their maritime security operations to protect fishing rights, stop smuggling and interdict human and drug trafficking.

For many of the nations, Chong said their navies perform missions similar to those of the U.S. Coast Guard. For the most part, the African navies and coast guards protect their fisheries resources from illegal fishing, search for smugglers and and combat the region’s ongoing piracy problems.

In many cases, the African nations use equipment very similar to what the U.S. Coast Guard employs. Smaller nations have patrol boats similar to those used by the U.S. Coast Guard, Chong said. Larger nations have frigates which are the same size as the U.S. Coast Guard’s national security cutters.

“The technology is very comparable to us as far as doing those type of boardings off a smaller platform or off a frigate,” Chong said.

In the case of Nigeria, Chong said Thetis operated with a former U.S. Coast Guard cutter. Current Nigerian navy frigate NNS Thunder (F90) is the former Hamilton-class high endurance cutter USCGC Chase (WHEC-718). Chase was transferred to Nigeria after being decommissioned in 2011.

“We’re helping a lot of these countries and their navies and coast guards to do boarding and security type functions,” Chong told USNI News. “We’re working with them jointly in their own maritime security zones.”

Geopolitical Mission

However, having the U.S. Coast Guard share knowledge and expertise with African nations serves another purpose that’s harder to quantify but is critical to U.S. foreign policy: acting as a counter to the growing influence of China in the region, officials say.

“I think I can safely say China’s interests are not the same as our interests,” Foggo said. “China has tripled its loans to Africa since 2012, making Beijing a major debt holder for African governments. China’s focus is geared towards using money and loans to open doors and access to natural resources contracts. This type of debt diplomacy can be a hindrance.”

Citing recent developments in Sri Lanka, Foggo said after that island nation’s ballooning debt to China grew unsustainable, China agreed to forgive some of the debt in return for gaining control of a major Sri Lankan port facility for 99 years.

Expect to see increased U.S. Coast Guard missions to support U.S. Navy fleet operations around the world, officials say.

“You look at Oceana; you look at China asserting influence, checkbook diplomacy in places where there’s not much of a tempering or competing voice right now,” Commandant of the Coast Guard Adm. Karl Schultz said last summer. “The Coast Guard I think can bring some unique capabilities in building partner capacity.”

Since Schultz foreshadowed sending Coast Guard assets to assist U.S. Navy missions, Thetis was sent to Africa. Meanwhile, and around the globe, cutter USCGC Bertholf (WSML-750) joined guided-missile destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG-54) in showing the roughly 110-mile wide body of water separating mainland China from Taiwan remains open for all maritime traffic.

“The bottom line is we’re there to work with our friends,” Foggo said. “We don’t ask for anything in return except for their friendship.”

Source: news.usni.org

ReCAAP ISC Piracy and Sea Robbery Conference 2019 Updates International Maritime Community on Current Situation in Asia and Africa

ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre (ISC) today held its annual Piracy and Sea Robbery Conference to an audience of international maritime stakeholders including shipping and marine insurance companies, regulators and law enforcement agencies, as well as the diplomatic community based in Singapore.

In his keynote address, Mr. Koji Sekimizu, former Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) reviewed the history of activities of IMO in dealing with maritime security and anti-piracy actions covering the establishment of ReCAAP, Somali Piracy, the Contact Group in conjunction with UN Security Council decisions, Djibouti Code of Conduct, Best Management Practices, and discussed a number of issues from his wide experience dealing with these matters as UN officer working at IMO and in the wider context of Maritime Governance by UN and IMO.

The conference addressed topics that are currently high on the agenda of the international maritime community including:

Piracy and Sea Robbery Situation in Asia (ReCAAP ISC)
Abduction of Crew in the Sulu-Celebes Seas and Waters off Easter Sabah (Philippine Coast Guard)
Update on the Indian Ocean High Risk Area (INTERTANKO)
Maritime Cybersecurity (BIMCO)
Effects and Implications of Piracy (Panel discussion moderated by World Maritime University)

“In 2018, there were 76 incidents of piracy and armed robbery reported in Asia. This was a 25% decrease in the total number of incidents and a 31% decrease in actual incidents compared to 2017. Nonetheless, it is important that we continue to reinforce the ownership of the Coastal States in addressing maritime crime, the cooperation between law enforcement agencies and the industry, and the timely reporting by ships, all of which have led to the decrease of incidents in Asia. The topics and speakers of this year’s conference have been designed to reflect the vitality of that shared responsibility,” remarked Masafumi Kuroki, Executive Director of ReCAAP ISC.

“Over the past couple of years, piracy and terrorism in the Sulu and Celebes Seas has been a point of concern for the shipping industry. The valuable counter-piracy lessons learned here, and off Somalia, are worth exploring, and may well be applied in the current piracy hotspot number one: The Gulf of Guinea. The annual ReCAAP ISC conference will surely help us do just that,” said Jakob P. Larsen, Head of Maritime Security at BIMCO.

“The threat from piracy remains, in Asia and also in the Indian Ocean. The Indian Ocean High Risk Area (HRA) continues to serve an important reference in ensuring ships and seafarers are prepared for pirate attacks,” said Tim Wilkins, Environment Director and Regional Manager, Asia-Pacific of INTERTANKO. “A serious threat remains despite the reduction to the area’s geographic boundaries and so correct reporting, vigilance and adherence to the 5th edition of the Best Management Practices to Deter Piracy and Enhance Maritime Security in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea (BMP5) remains crucial. Shipowners must remain alert and law enforcement agencies must continue to provide protection to shipping.”

Ambassador Ong Keng Yong, Executive Deputy Chairman of RSIS, highlighted the relevance of the conference, “This annual conference is an important knowledge-sharing platform on risks and threats facing the international maritime community. We discussed piracy and sea robbery as well as relevant emerging technologies, and shared ideas on solving problems affecting ship owners and seafarers. The most useful part of this exchange is on how to work together effectively.”

Source: recaap.org

Somaliland Corrects IGAD Exclusion of Country in Red Sea Taskforce in Statement

Somaliland wants to be included in the Taskforce on the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).

The Somaliland government says that any initiative to coordinate a response to changing Red Sea environs that does not include them in a meaningful way will lack the credibility, capability and representativeness necessary to contend with competing multinational cooperation efforts in these waters.

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Source: menafn.com

Adding depth to maritime defense

There was a time when a country’s maritime strategy consisted of its navy or coast guard protecting its waters, defending citizens from enemies and pirates, and going after people fishing illegally.

That’s a shallow view of maritime security in the 21st century. Groups such as the United Nations and the African Union say that a modern-day maritime strategy must protect assets, ensure sustainable economic growth, guard the environment, manage energy use, and build the ability to work with neighboring countries and regions.

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Source: defenceweb.co.za

PCG deploys Boracay class patrol vessel in Zamboanga

By Teofilo Garcia, Jr.

ZAMBOANGA CITY — The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has assigned one of its Boracay-class patrol vessel to the the Coast Guard District Southwestern Mindanao (CGDSWM) to boost the anti-smuggling campaign in this part of the country.

The vessel, BRP-Malamawi, will be jointly operated by the PCG and the Bureau of Customs (BoC) to address the problems on smuggling, as well as piracy, drug trafficking and other illegal activities in the Zamboanga, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi (ZamBaSulTa) areas.

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Source: ptvnews.ph

Angolan navy tracks pirate boats

ANGOLA, March 26 – The commander of the “Ngola Kiluanje P200” ship belonging to Angolan War Navy (MGA), Luís da Silva, said on Monday that the vessel is equipped with technology to track pirate boats illegally operating in the country’s maritime coast.,

The ship is part of the fleet patrolling the Angolan coast under the Operation transparency launched on Monday.

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Source: einpresswire.com

Nigeria: Govt – Deep Blue Project Will End Criminalities in Our Waters

The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, has reiterated the federal government’s determination to rid the Nigerian territorial waters of criminalities through the Integrated Security and Waterways Protection Infrastructure, otherwise known as the Deep Blue Project.

Amaechi disclosed this in Lagos during the graduation ceremony for participants of the C4I Intelligence System Operator Course for the Deep Blue Project.

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Source: allafrica.com

Defence minister wants African Navies to unite against sea criminals

Philip Nwosu

Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali, has called for transnational efforts towards fighting maritime crimes in the Gulf of Guinea.

The minister, who spoke at the closing ceremonies for the 2019 edition of Exercise Obangame Express, said maritime illegalities had become transnational and evolved beyond the scope and capability of one country to combat.

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Source: sunnewsonline.com

Maritime crimes: 80 vessels arrested in 3 years – Naval Chief

PHILIP NWOSU

The Nigerian Navy said it arrested over 80 vessels within the last three years for various maritime offences including oil theft.

The Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ette Ibas, disclosed this at the closing ceremony of the multi-national annual maritime exercise code-named OBANGAME EXPRESS 2019, saying that the vessels were arrested for various acts of maritime illegalities.

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Source: sunnewsonline.com