WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - From piracy and migrant smuggling to disruptions affecting global shipping routes, countries bordering one of the world's busiest waterways are seeking closer cooperation to stay ahead of fast-evolving maritime threats.
As maritime tensions ripple across parts of the Middle East, security officials from Ethiopia, Yemen, Djibouti, and Somalia gathered in Nairobi to discuss how to protect the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden from growing threats that no country can manage alone.
The two-day Maritime Law Enforcement Dialogue, facilitated by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, with support from the European Union, INTERPOL, the International Maritime Organization and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, focused on strengthening information-sharing and cooperation across the region.
The current attacks on the freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz have an impact on Gulf of Aden because they are affecting maritime security. Pirates use this opportunity and the distraction of the maritime forces globally to do more attacks in this area, because they know that everyone is busy looking in another direction,' said Abdurrahim Muhammad Ali of the Djibouti Maritime Authority.
Ali listed maritime terrorism, illegal fishing, robbery, trafficking, irregular migration and smuggling among Djibouti's primary concerns.
The Red Sea and Gulf of Aden form one of the world's most important maritime corridors, linking regional economies to international markets. Any disruption can affect shipping routes, supply chains and the movement of goods far beyond the region.
Among the chief concerns are piracy, illegal fishing, trafficking in persons, migrant smuggling and narcotics trafficking. Officials say developments in one part of the region increasingly have consequences elsewhere, making information-sharing and coordinated responses more important than ever.
While piracy levels remain well below their peak more than a decade ago, countries are now better equipped to respond through stronger law enforcement, improved data collection and greater regional cooperation, noted Mostafa Elbanna, UNODC's Regional Coordinator for the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden under its Global Maritime Crime Program.
Captain Kibru Mesfin of the Ethiopian Maritime Authority called for more organized and harmonized systems for sharing maritime information among neighbouring countries, including Djibouti, Yemen and Somalia.
Establishing a National Maritime Information Centre and strengthening regional connections would help authorities access timely information needed to support maritime security and decision-making, he said.
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