Ghana urges stronger African cooperation against maritime crime
Ghana called for stronger intelligence-sharing and coordinated operations against maritime crime at the first African Maritime Security Forum in Accra. Speakers urged a continent-wide response to piracy, trafficking and shifting shipping routes, while highlighting gaps in funding, enforcement and coastal governance.
myjoyonline.comDefence Minister calls for intelligence-sharing and regional cooperation to tackle maritime insecurity
A coordinated response
Ghana’s Defence Minister, Mr Adjei, urged African countries to strengthen intelligence-sharing and joint operations as he opened the African Maritime Security Forum in Accra on October 14. The two-day meeting brought together naval leaders, security specialists, policymakers and international partners at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC).
Adjei said criminal networks exploited connections between sea, land and air, making it impossible for countries to tackle maritime threats alone. He called for cooperation across governments, industry, regional organisations and international partners, backed by capable institutions and effective implementation of existing laws.
Beyond the Gulf of Guinea
KAIPTC Commandant Air Vice Marshal David A. Akrong said the forum would connect security discussions across the Gulf of Guinea, southern African shipping routes and the western Indian Ocean. He said maritime threats increasingly crossed regional boundaries.
Akrong credited regional cooperation, including the Yaoundé Architecture, with significantly reducing piracy in the Gulf of Guinea. But he warned that weak enforcement, poor coastal governance, youth unemployment and environmental damage remained underlying drivers of insecurity, alongside renewed piracy concerns in the Somali Basin and western Indian Ocean.
Shipping pressures and capability gaps
Akrong said disruptions around the Red Sea, Bab el-Mandeb and Strait of Hormuz were diverting shipping towards southern Africa’s Cape sea route, creating security and economic implications for African coastal states. He called for better maritime awareness, greater use of technology and stronger legal frameworks.
Professor Kula Ishmael Theletsane of the Southern African Development Community identified inadequate funding, fragmented policies, weak information-sharing and limited naval capabilities as barriers to effective maritime security. He said overlapping frameworks and differing national priorities complicated implementation of regional strategies.
From discussions to action
The forum built on annual conferences organised since 2022 by KAIPTC, the Royal Danish Defence College and Stellenbosch University’s Security Institute for Governance and Leadership in Africa. It drew 66 registered participants from 14 countries.
Adjei urged participants to produce practical recommendations and said success should be measured through stronger partnerships, concrete commitments and benefits for communities dependent on maritime activities. He also praised Denmark’s support for training, simulation facilities and Ghanaian security capabilities.
