On Monday 17 October, SEACOP launched a 5-day training on maritime intelligence in Dakar, Senegal.
The training is attended by 15 officers and agents of maritime intelligence units from 4 West African countries, including 5 participants from Senegal, 4 from Côte d’Ivoire, 3 from Togo and 3 from Benin.
Maritime Intelligence Units (MIU) are multi-agency units comprising representatives of the #police, gendarmerie, customs, navy, port authorities, coastguards, etc.) that deal with information relating to illegal maritime traffic.
During the opening ceremony, SEACOP Regional Coordinator for West Africa, Wiart Eric said that “the objective of the training is to strengthen the capacity of MIUs by providing them with the necessary tools for processing maritime information in order to support Joint Maritime Control Units (JMCUs) with reliable intelligence for profiling and targeting of suspicious vessels.”
The training is led by experts from the Interregional Maritime Security Institute in Abidjan, the Maritime Analisis and Operations Centre in Lisbon and French Customs.
In parallel to this training, SEACOP has launched a mentoring action dedicated to the search of modified or unplanned vessels for the benefit of the JMCU in Dakar. This activity is led by an expert from the French Customs’ Coast Guard Department.
