Maritime Security
Peace operations with naval components have been tasked with counter-piracy, the fight against terrorist groups and criminal networks engaged in smuggling and trafficking, as well as with protecting maritime transport and building capacity of coast guards, navies and criminal justice institutions. The main areas of activity are currently the Horn of Africa and the Mediterranean.
EUNAVFOR Somalia – deployed along the Horn of Africa – is authorized to inspect ships and to arrest persons who are suspected of piracy or links to terrorist organizations. The UN mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was supplemented with a Maritime Task Force in 2006, which controls sea routes in the fight against arms smuggling and potential terrorist threats. Since March 2020, the EU has a maritime operation in the Mediterranean, Operation Irini, whose core task is to implement Security Council Resolution 2292 (2016) on the arms embargo against Libya.
In connection with their protection remit, these maritime operations also cooperate with a number of other actors ranging from national authorities in Somalia and Libya to the shipping industry and humanitarian organizations. For instance, EUNAVFOR Somalia protects the World Food Programme’s aid deliveries and supply transports for the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).
Examples for peace operations with naval components such as countering piracy or protecting maritime transport:
- EUNAVFOR Atalanta
- EUCAP Somalia
- UNIFIL (Lebanon)
© Pasqual Gorriz
In addition, both the EU and the UN build maritime security capacity. UNIFIL, for one, trains the Lebanese Navy to independently control sea routes. EUCAP Somalia trains the Somali Coast Guard, but also works regionally to bolster the capacity of the navies of Tanzania and Kenya. During Portugal's EU Presidency in the first half of 2021, the issue of maritime security received special attention, including in the implementation of the EU Maritime Security Strategy Action Plan and the Coordinated Maritime Presence to better align the fleets and resources of EU member states. Since then, the EU has been conducting pilot projects with ships in the Gulf of Guinea and the Indian Ocean (including off the coasts of Yemen and Somalia) as part of the CMP to protect trade routes and combat piracy and organized crime.
As of 18.09.2023