For the first time ever the Yemen Maritime Affairs Authority, the Somali Maritime Administration (Mogadishu), the Puntland Maritime Police Force, the Somaliland Coast Guard and the Djibouti Coast Guard coordinated their joint actions on maritime security and interdiction at sea, during a live TableTop Exercise (TTX).
Students from the above-mentioned maritime agencies, who had completed two weeks intensive training on IORIS training platform, took part in the exercise, which involved the European Union Naval Force Operation ATALANTA, operating in the Gulf of Aden.
The TTX, organised by CRIMARIO II, was based on current maritime security threats in the region. It demonstrated how the agencies reacted to a simulated live incident when EUNAVFOR, which was operating in International Waters, conveyed information, using the IORIS platform, that a suspect Dhow was entering Somali Territorial Waters (TTW) in Puntland.
The detailed scenario involved all the agencies which had to link real time exercise feeds that challenged the need for wider Horn of Africa coordination, effecting Djibouti and Yemen that ensued relevant information which was shared and actioned.
Somali Maritime authorities were asked to prepare options for request for EUNAVFOR to enter Somali TTW.
The exercise was concluded with the Puntland Maritime Police Force (PMPF) deploying its own patrol vessels to intercept the Dhow and detained the crew as the vessel contained illegal weapons. EUNAVFOR remaining in International Waters simulated the detention of a second Dhow which also contained a concealed illegal weapons cargo.