Photo: Christopher Griner.
Although the sea is a source of great wealth for Africa, piracy, narcotics trafficking, arms smuggling, and other transnational threats present a significant threat to the continent’s security, jobs, food supply, and trade. The Africa Center for Strategic Studies has compiled a collection of analyses, research, and lectures that present challenges of and methods for securing the maritime domain.
Spotlight
Red Sea and Western Indian Ocean Attacks Expose Africa’s Maritime Vulnerability
Missile and armed drone strikes by Houthi militias and hijackings by Somali pirates have destabilized maritime shipping from the Red Sea to the Western Indian Ocean, impacting security and trade for all of Africa.
Video
Ten Years of the Yaoundé Protocol: Reflections on Maritime Security in the Gulf of Guinea
The Yaoundé Protocol has driven a decline in West and Central African piracy and charted a course for what transnational security collaboration can accomplish around the continent.
Toolkit
National Maritime Security Strategy Toolkit
This document is intended as a planning toolkit for policymakers and practitioners as they navigate the process of developing maritime national security strategies in Africa. Compiled by the Africa Center for Strategic Studies in 2016, the toolkit reflects the contributions and experiences of dozens of African maritime security professionals who have undertaken maritime security strategy planning processes.
Spotlight
Trends in African Maritime Security
Africa's rapidly evolving maritime security environment has prompted innovations in Africa's maritime security architecture, leading to greater regional coordination.
Spotlight
Innovating Security Solutions on the Seas in the Seychelles
The Seychelles’ environmental, economic, and security plans include unique reforms and innovative partnerships generate benefits that reach well beyond its shores.
Publication
Criminality in Africa’s Fishing Industry: A Threat to Human Security
Conflicts of interest within Africa's fisheries sector enable unsustainable exploitation by foreign fishing firms and undercut the political will needed to build more robust surveillance and prosecutorial capacity.
Spotlight
Maritime Security in the Western Indian Ocean: A Discussion with Assis Malaquias
The Indian Ocean is a vital conduit for trade. It's also a domain where security threats, including piracy, trafficking, and illegal fishing, thrive. Former Africa Center professor Assis Malaquias reflects on its relevance to national security in Africa.
![A member of the Ghanaian maritime police looks at a suspected illicit fishing vessel prior to boarding. [Photo: U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa]](https://africacenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/13776843044_cf0c965497_z.jpg)
Spotlight
Maritime Safety and Security: Crucial for Africa’s Strategic Future
Maritime access gives Africa a major strategic advantage. Yet none of its 38 coastal states can fully claim sovereignty over territorial waters.
Publication
Combating Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea
Stronger national, regional, and international political commitments are needed to reverse the worsening trend of maritime insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea.
Publication
Investing in Science and Technology to Meet Africa’s Maritime Security Challenges
A growing number of Africa’s security challenges—narcotics trafficking, piracy, illegal fishing, and armed robberies, among others—take place at sea. Illicit actors exploit Africa’s maritime space given its expansiveness and the limited number of vessels African governments can field to interdict this activity. Technology can dramatically improve Africa’s maritime security coverage. However, to do so will require engaging Africa’s scientists who can guide and sustain these efforts. This will yield not only security but environmental and meteorological benefits for the continent.
Publication
Navies versus Coast Guards: Defining the Roles of African Maritime Security Forces
African states’ maritime security structures are often misaligned with the challenges posed and need coast guard capabilities and an array of intra-governmental partnerships.