Kenya Trains Maritime Security Officials

Maritime law enforcement officials from Kenya are taking part in a two week training course on best practices for visit, board, search and seizure of vessels, in Mombasa, Kenya (11-22 February).

The multi-agency course brings together 30 officials to learn skills for effective coordination in combating maritime crimes and procedures used to successfully board and search a vessel of interest.

The training is part of International Maritime Organization (IMO)’s support for implementing the Jeddah Amendment to Djibouti Code of Conduct 2017, a regional agreement against maritime crime in the Gulf of Aden and western Indian Ocean area, which IMO helped to establish.

Implementation of the code of conduct is supported by a range of international partners including United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Police Organization (INTERPOL), Mohammed Bin Naif Academy for Maritime Science and Security Studies (Saudi Arabia), United States Coast Guard, US Naval Forces Africa, Canadian Coast Guard, British Peace Support Team (Africa), NATO Maritime Interdiction Training Centre (NMIOTC) and others.

The ongoing course is supported by a joint Royal Navy/Royal Marine training team of seven experts from the United Kingdom and four experts from the International Committee of the Red Cross – to teach skills on International Humanitarian Rights Law, use of force, arrest and detention, search and seizure, and judicial guarantees.

The participants are from the Kenya Maritime Authority, Kenya Coast Guard Services, Kenya Ports Authority, Kenya Maritime Police Unit, Kenya Navy, Kenya Fisheries Service, Immigration, Port Health, and Kenya Revenue Authority.