Port facility personnel with designated security duties in Djibouti have received training to identify potential security threats and take action to prevent risks to port facilities in the Red Sea area.
The workshop (21-25 January) was organised by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), through the EU-funded Regional Programme on Maritime Security in the Red Sea Area, bringing together 38 participants. Through the Programme, INTERPOL, IMO and UNODC engage in coordinated actions in support of participating countries in the Red Sea area, to develop capacities and promote adequate security and safety standards for maritime, port and land-based law-enforcement authorities to address some of these challenges.
Hereby, IMO aims to assist participating countries in the Southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, to enhance maritime security and safety in the Red Sea Area, in line with the 2050 Africa’s Integrated Maritime Strategy.
The participants, civilian and military, represented the Maritime Administration, the navy, the coastguard, Gendarmerie Nationale, immigration, and included port facility security officers, access control officers, training officers, port authority and relevant port facility managers.
The Djibouti Code of Conduct (DCoC)/ Jeddah Amendment
The Djibouti Code of Conduct (DCoC) concerning the Repression of Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in the Western Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden was adopted in 2009.
Since 2010, IMO has been supporting Djibouti Code of Conduct participating States to develop their maritime law enforcement capability to counter piracy and other threats to safety and security of navigation.
The Jeddah Amendment, adopted in 2017, extends the scope of the Code, calling on the signatory States to cooperate to the fullest possible extent to repress transnational organized crime in the maritime domain, maritime terrorism, illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing and other illegal activities at sea.
The pillars of the DCoC are:
- regional training
- national legislation
- information sharing
- capacity building
- coordination
The course (based on IMO model course 3.24) provided the knowledge required to perform duties in accordance with key IMO safety and security instruments: the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS); chapter XI-2, the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code; the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code; and the IMO/ILO Code of Practice on Security in Ports.
