maritime

CAPT. TAHIR NGADA, NIGERIAN NAVY The importance of the Gulf of Guinea to Africa and the wider world can hardly be overstated. With 6,000 kilometers of coastline touching 19 littoral states from Senegal to Angola, the gulf is rich in…

ADF STAFF Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in Kenya has declined significantly since the country established a Coast Guard in 2018. That is according to Timothy Wamalwa, an operator in the Kenyan Coast Guard, who…

ADF STAFF Threats in the coastal waterways of Africa have multiplied in recent years. Smuggling, piracy and oil bunkering all occur in the shallow waters that snake from the ocean to the interior of the continent. These threats cannot be…

ADF STAFF The spread of extremist violence in West Africa gave this year’s Exercise Flintlock an air of urgency, as counterterrorism training took center stage. Ghana Armed Forces Col. Richard Mensah, commander of the Joint Military…

ADF STAFF As nations emerge from the pandemic, they are trying to boost economic growth wherever possible. One focus is the “blue economy,” made up of the businesses that rely on water to thrive. This sector, which includes energy,…

Vice Adm. Awwal Zubairu Gambo has served in the Nigerian Navy for more than 30 years. His career includes time working on naval strategy, intelligence, training and as a defense attache. In 2017, he was the security coordinator for the…

ADF STAFF  |  PHOTOS BY NIMASA As 2021 drew to a close, the once-perilous waters off Nigeria’s coast were showing signs of becoming uncharacteristically calm. In fact, the entire Gulf of Guinea region had shown a steady decrease in…

BY DR. KAMAL-DEEN ALI, GHANA NAVY (RET.) and DR. HUMPHREY ASAMOAH AGYEKUM Since independence, Ghana’s Navy has been the sole seagoing state institution with responsibility for securing the nation’s waters. Today, its mission has…

ADF STAFF A common practice for vessels fishing illegally is to park themselves outside a country’s protected waters during the day and move in at nightfall.  Vessels with 300-ton capacity or more are required to have an automatic…

ADF STAFF Collectively, Africa’s coastal countries are responsible for more than 13 million square kilometers of maritime territory, a huge undertaking that is beyond the capacity of most countries. Enter unmanned vehicles. Countries are…