Abidjan, A training program run by the Interregional Maritime Security Institute (ISMI) on the requirements of the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code (ISPS Code) was launched on Monday 24th January 2022, during a ceremony at the Autonomous Port of Abidjan.

According to the director of ISMI, Lieutenant-Colonel Abé Aké Lazare, these training sessions which will be held until December are part of the implementation of the WeCAPS project, funded by the European Union ( EU) and piloted by “Expertise France” . It aims to strengthen the protection of ports in West and Central Africa against risks in terms of both safety and security.

Representing the WeCAPS project, Hervé Basset specified that this program followed by seven African countries was set up at the request of the States to strengthen the partnership between the European Union and the ports of Central and West Africa in order to secure in the best way, the exchanges that take place through these ports.

The team leader at the European Union delegation, Hadrien Maillard, argued that the project aims to strengthen ties between the EU and Côte d’Ivoire through training and securing the Ports of Abidjan and of San Pedro in order to participate in the economic growth of Côte d’Ivoire.

The Permanent Secretariat for State Action at Sea, represented by Lt-Colonel Kouadio Aké Josée Nicole, indicated that port safety and security issues are among the priorities of the Ivorian government, which has set up a regulatory framework governing port security in application of the ISPS code with a view to making the Port of Abidjan, the heart of the Ivorian economy, a transhipment port.

These training sessions started with 25 auditors who, for five days, will benefit from theoretical and practical training in order to master this ISPS code. This code is presented as a real device for the prevention of illegal acts such as piracy, terrorism, illegal trafficking (smuggling of weapons, narcotics, sabotage, theft of goods, hostage taking, illegal immigration, etc.).

For Colonel Karim Coulibaly, Director General of the Regional Academy of Maritime Sciences and Techniques, in terms of port security, the ISPS code is an important instrument that must be mastered by all actors acting on the port platform.

“Certainly, the ports are developing, modernizing, but this momentum must be done concomitantly with security,” he argued.

Source: Agence Ivoirienne de Presse