IMO partnered with the Organization of American States Inter American Committee Against Terrorism (OAS-CICTE) to conduct the interactive Port Facility Security/Port Security Officer Tabletop Exercise. This is the second workshop aiming to ready countries for a wide range of possible threats and security situations.
The workshop took place in Veracruz, Mexico on 26 – 27 February.
Those taking part in the workshop, were involved in simulation exercise that were designed to enable port facility security officers to develop their decision making skills in a variety of situations.
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In the meantime, the workshop was ranging from the simple to more complex challenges that require intervention and coordination with other departments or management of their respective international port or ports with the respective authorities.
The overall goal is to forward the workshop in other Member States of the OAS in the future, via a collaboration between CICTE and Inter-American Committee on Ports (CIP) of the OAS, and IMO.
Except the workshop, there was a meet on February 21, in Mexico between representatives of the relevant agencies with key roles in maritime and port security in Mexico, as they discussed the importance of a better coordination and communication.
Representatives of a number of different government agencies – including Customs, Environment, Navy, Ministry of Justice, Defence, Police, Transport – talked about their role on maritime security and how capabilities could be strengthened by working together. During the meeting, OAS-CICTE briefed the authorities on their visits to the Mexican ports of Ensenada, Mazatlan and Progreso.
