British boost to Seychelles maritime capability |09 March 2020

A souvenir photograph at the end of the training session (Photo: Joena Meme)

A team of British maritime crime and security experts met specialists from agencies involved in all aspects of safety and security at sea this week to share experiences and best practice.

The training team, made up of staff from the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy, Maritime and Coastguard Agency, and the National Crime Agency, delivered a course on integrated maritime planning, which enables participant organisations to develop local strategies for inter-agency approaches to tackling any form of maritime threat.

Representatives of 12 different agencies took part in the week-long training session, hosted at the REFLECS centre, covering topics such as intelligence sharing, search and securing evidence, and organisational interactions, as well as testing different scenarios through a series of desk top exercises.

Speaking at the closing of the event, British High Commissioner Patrick Lynch described the shared values that enable British and Seychellois experts to work together effectively.

“For the UK this workshop demonstrates our positive agenda in Seychelles, one of mutual interest rather than malign interest. Here we see Seychellois and British expertise working tougher in a spirit of shared values to achieve shared benefits,” he said.

In addition to maritime security and policing agencies, staff from the department of risk and disaster management (DRDM), department of health and Attorney General’s Office joined the training to understand how to integrate their work into responses to maritime threats.

“The range of expertise at this workshop demonstrates that inter-agency cooperation is the key driver of effective rule of law on land and at sea. Disruption and interdiction is only of value if this is followed by thorough investigation, effective prosecution, a transparent judicial system and a robust but humane means of detention. Only when all of these elements can effectively work together do we see deterrence and prevention of crime,” said the high commissioner.

The integrated maritime planning training follows separate training sessions in February on safety of navigation, delivered by the UK’s Hydrographic Office, and search and rescue management, delivered by the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

Press Release from the British high commission