Africa report
Maritime security: monitoring centers in the Indian Ocean
Audio 02:21
The Japanese bulk carrier "Wakashio" stranded on a reef on the coast of Mauritius broke in two on August 15, 2020. Fabien Dubessay / AFP
By: Abdoollah Earally Follow
3 mins
The Indian Ocean islands are strengthening their maritime surveillance system in the face of illicit trafficking and the risk of pollution, like the sinking of the
Wakashio
in Mauritius two years ago.
Two regional maritime surveillance centers with different attributions have been created, one in Madagascar and the other in the Seychelles.
As part of this system, which brings together seven countries (including Kenya and Djibouti), Mauritius is setting up an information sharing center for its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
Advertising
From our correspondent in Port-Louis,
Gathered in Port-Louis a few meters from the seafront with various Mauritian and regional actors involved in a project to pool resources for maritime surveillance in the Indian Ocean, Raj Mohabeer cannot contain his exasperation in the face of the various traffics and risks that persist in the waters of the region.
"
Today, everyone does what they want in the sea. It can't go on
,
"
he notes bitterly at RFI's microphone.
Project manager responsible, among other things, for maritime security at the Indian Ocean Commission, he recognizes that small countries cannot monitor everything in their territorial waters, but at the same time is sorry for the lack of coordination.
"
Responsibility is so fragmented between different ministries and entities that in the end, no one is responsible
," he regrets emphatically.
In the case of Mauritius, the charges are indeed divided between the coast guards, customs, port authorities and four ministries.
A flaw exposed on July 25, 2020 during the sinking of the
Wakashio
which caused the worst ecological disaster that Mauritius has known.
Two years after this sinking, Mauritius does not have a fully coordinated surveillance and operation system.
Change of Indian Command to Mauritius National Coast Guard
The Indian Ocean Port Security and Navigation Security Program should help in the establishment of a concerted plan at national and regional level.
“
That's what the port security program is trying to achieve here.
We are acting together with the Indian Ocean Commission which is leading the project.
We also seek to adopt good practices elsewhere in the world so that the information obtained leads to concrete actions
,” explains Milko Van Gool, Head of Cooperation of the European Union Delegation to Mauritius and the Seychelles.
Criticized for its lack of vigilance during the sinking of the
Wakashio
, the National Coastguard of Mauritius changed command.
It is led by another representative of the Indian Navy, Captain Vipin Gupta, who is convinced that Mauritius has the necessary logistics to fully play its role within the framework of a regional program.
“
Monitoring an entire Exclusive Economic Zone requires cooperation from Mauritius.
This is the basis of this monitoring project with the countries of the region to be able to act against threats.
If we receive an intelligence, if we discover the presence of a suspicious vessel, we can act with our means
”, maintains Captain Vipin Gupta.
Since the last major oil pollution, the risk is still present in this part of the Indian Ocean.
Since the
Wakashio
disaster in July 2020, Mauritius has recorded five other accidents in its waters with risks of pollution.
Apart from the presence of dilapidated boats navigating its waters, Mauritius has also struggled to control drug trafficking and illegal fishing in its EEZ.
Newsletter
Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
google-play-badge_EN
Mauritius
oceans