GLOBAL MARITIME CRIME PROGRAMME ANNUAL REPORT 2018 GLOBAL MARITIME CRIME PROGRAMME ANNUAL REPORT 2018 United Nations Training search techniques and evidence Vienna, 2018 collection during VBSS training, Sri Lanka CONTENTS 5: Foreword 6-15: Atlantic Ocean Team 16-29: Indian Ocean Team 30-41: Horn of Africa Team 42-49: Pacific Ocean Team 50-53: Management & Analysis Team 54-55: Abbreviations & Acronyms Global Maritime Crime Programme Management Team, Colombo, 2018 Photographs: © UNODC © United Nations, January 2019. All rights reserved, worldwide. The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publica- tion do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. This publication has not been formally edited. FOREWORD In coastguard bases across the region our experts are helping to get the boats to sea and giving the crews the skills to make arrests of traffickers and pirates. Once those cases reach land, GMCP’s experts are ready in prosecutors’ offices and courts to help our member states deliver fair and efficient trials. In the Pacific Ocean where maritime crimes include kidnap for ran- som, drugs trafficking, piracy and armed robbery we are developing innovative cooperation mechanisms to ensure that our member states, many of whom already have powerful maritime forces, cooperate on investigation and prosecution: work at the very heart of UNODC’s mandate. Rapidly changing maritime crime trends need adaptable enforcement solutions and we are at the centre of that work. Meanwhile out on the Indian Ocean you will read how we are us- ing vessels confiscated from drugs traffickers, pirates and illegal fish- ermen to train the maritime law enforcement officers of more than a dozen states to board and search the vessels that criminals use: our welcome to the 2018 Annual Report maritime training centres in Sri Lanka and Seychelles have never of our Global Maritime Crime Programme. been busier. We are also providing continued support to piracy trials I am delighted to have the opportunity to and leading the work to see that more of those who smuggle heroin welcome you to this exciting summary of across the Indian Ocean into East Africa are arrested and prosecuted. our work in 2018 and to highlight what we Our largest maritime team is working around the Horn of Africa. are doing to help our member states deliver With a permanent presence in the three largest Somali ports and an rule of law on the two thirds of the surface active programme of support to Yemen, you will read how UNODC of our world that is covered in sea. is working to build up the capacity of Somali and Yemen maritime The Global Maritime Crime Programme law enforcement officers to police these strategic and dangerous wa- is one of UNODC’s largest programmes and ters. With the war in Yemen still raging and active organised crime our most field-focused, embedded within groups moving drugs, charcoal, terrorist fighters, migrants and guns the Division of Operations. Of the 80 or so through the region, often in breach of UN sanctions, our Somali and full time personnel on the programme only Yemeni law enforcement partners are on the front line of law re-es- three are to be found in UNODC’s Head- tablishing peace and security. We are proud to be working alongside quarters in Vienna, the rest are out in our them. member states providing direct support UNODC recognises that all parts of a justice system must be sup- to coastguards, prosecutors and our other ported if rule of law is to be truly effective. You will read how we criminal justice partners coordinated from support prisons in Kenya, Seychelles and Somalia to ensure condi- the GMCP HQ in Colombo, Sri Lanka. tions for prisoners are humane and secure and how we help staff In this report you will read how we are reduce the risk of violent extremism taking root in prisons. helping our Atlantic Ocean member states I hope you enjoy reading the 2018 Annual Report of the Global to use the latest maritime domain aware- Maritime Crime Programme. ness technology to detect and detain ves- sels moving drugs by sea or plundering the Forward by Miwa Kato, Director, precious natural resources of coastal states. Division of Operations, UNODC 5 AO ATLANTIC OCEAN TEAM Local fishing community on beach in Dakar global maritime crime programme · annual report 2018 LIBERIA efit from this equipment, they need the technical knowledge to use In Liberia, several Training of Trainers them. To fill that gap, we orchestrated the deployment of a maritime (ToT) courses took place, where numerous engineer to support capacity building in engine and technical main- national law enforcement agencies (Liberi- tenance. an Coast Guard, National Police, the Liberi- Early in 2018 the Liberian authorities arrested a fishing vessel an Drug Enforcement Agency, the Maritime thanks to our technical support and provision of satellite images by Authority, the Immigration services and EU Copernicus and EMSA (European Maritime Safety Agency). As Transnational Crime Unit) were brought part of the dynamic and ever progressing approach to training, similar together with the aim of enhancing their cases were later discussed in detail in following ToT sessions, where individual capacities as well as expanding outcomes and shortcomings of the operations were analysed. Particu- inter-agency collaboration. This advanced lar attention was given to due compliance on human rights at sea. training sought to improve knowledge and implementation of best practices relating GHANA to evidence collection, search and arrests. As part of our Maritime Law Enforcement Capacity Building Pro- By implementing a hands-on approach, gramme for Ghana, a wide array of national Maritime Law Enforce- participants were trained on the law of the ment agencies (MLE) received a series of ToT sessions over the year. sea and maritime crime and then, using The participants in the course subsequently delivered training to the Manual developed by the GMCP, they their units. These types of workshops provided an opportunity for worked on scenarios shaped into short the participants to improve their presentation techniques and learn mock trials, thus applying and internalis- how to apply them to their maritime security knowledge. ing what they had learnt. Other sessions were conducted for different law enforcement agen- As part of the objective to build up the cies, which covered knowledge in techniques for conducting vessel capacity of West African countries to tackle Visit, Board, Search and Seizure (VBSS). A key component of the pro- maritime crime, we delivered spare parts, gramme was to conclude the sessions with exercises at sea, giving the radio equipment, and when needed, boats. participants the opportunity to put into action what they learnt. However, for the Coastguard to fully ben- We also arranged a simulated maritime boarding and drug search Ghanaian MLE agencies participating in VBSS training, simulating a drug inspection exercise 8 atlantic ocean team Atlantic Ocean Team conducting a joint simulated maritime boarding with the Italian Navy, Ghanaian Navy and other Ghanaian maritime law enforce- ment agencies in Tema exercise, the first of its kind bringing to- We also supported two multi-agency exercises using EU Coperni- gether several Ghanaian maritime law cus satellite images. At the end of August 2018, a simulated boarding enforcement agencies. It was also a multi- exercise was conducted where the scenario concerned a drug smug- national boarding between the Ghanaian gling operation from the other side of the Atlantic towards the North authorities and the Italian Navy. The ex- passing by the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Cabo Verde. On the ercise was supported by the Interregional first day, a drug inspection boarding was conducted, ending with the Coordination Centre, which supervises ca- arrest of the drug traffickers. After the exercise, using the satellite pacity building in both West and Central images the Cabo Verdean Coastguard identified two suspect targets Africa. This innovative approach gave an and subsequently sent a patrol vessel to inspect the area and identify opportunity for different national MLE the targets. agencies to work together, and in this case the added benefit of working with another country’s Navy. Several operational results were achieved The embedded GMCP mentor for by Ghanaian MLE agencies thanks to the maritime engineering training the mentoring provided in 2017 and 2018, Cabo Verde Coastguard on mainte- including arrest and prosecution of human nance directly on the vessels trafficking cases occurring at sea. CABO VERDE One of our maritime experts was embed- ded in Cabo Verde as a mentor on marine engineering and technical maintenance, with the additional role of organising and co-directing training exercises. The expert first assessed the technical needs of the Cabo Verdean vessels and subsequently trained the staff on maintenance directly on the vessels. 9 global maritime crime programme · annual report 2018 Mindelo, Cabo Verde, UNODC supported a 4-day maritime exercise IMPACT STORY: Comment on having the embedded advisor in the daily work is to advise and guide the everyday operations Cabo Verde Coastguard from the Commander, Pedro and develop clear guidelines to improve their operational Santana, Participant in the August exercise. effectiveness; to organise medium and long-term plan- ning of maintenance of Naval Units and training of staff “Thanks to our maritime expert we improved the or- on operations at sea; to assist in the coordination with ganisation of the operations as well as the training ses- other relevant entities, namely Judiciary Police, Maritime sions. We drafted a schedule for training sessions for Police end Fishery Department, to combat illicit mari- officers, sergeants and sailors.