United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime working together with Namibia to improve Security in the Ports of Lüderitz and Walvis Bay

In line with the United Nation’s Office on Drugs and Security (UNODC) Strategic Vision for Africa 2030, the training equipped participants with relevant skills and modern techniques to combat Maritime Crimes and improve port security. Overall, this will also contribute to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal 14 on Life Below Water, targeting Sustainable Management and Protection of Marine and Coastal Ecosystems.

The training kicked off on 3 October 2022 with two-weeks of training in Lüderitz, then moved to Walvis Bay for other two-weeks and closed with a final training debrief and inter-agency workshop in Windhoek on 2 November 2022. In total, ninety-one participants representing eighteen agencies took part in the training events.

Ferdinand Hishitelwa, a Protection Officer from the Port Authority Namibia, who took part in the Lüderitz training, explains the impact of the training on his work:

"This morning, I went to our tug master, I explained to him well about the training we attended of Port security and safety of Navigation, I also explained to him the importance of us port security to do regular patrol around our port area as well at the anchoring area to check if there's any suspicious of irregularities which can cause harm to our port and our communities at large." 

"He promised me that they will always take me along whenever they will go to the anchoring area for me to conduct security patrol", added Hishitelwa.

This training is part of the EU Funded Programme on Port Security and Safety of Navigation which is coordinated by the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) and implemented jointly by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) and UNODC over a four-year period. Its beneficiaries comprise nine island and coastal countries across East Africa, Southern Africa and the Indian Ocean, including Namibia.