Maritime security should be plain sailing once essential structures are established
As the decade-long focus on African seas and oceans ends, three priorities remain to turn Africa’s maritime ambitions into action.
In his 9 June address at the ‘Africa at the heart of ocean action’ session during the third United Nations (UN) Ocean Conference, the UN Secretary-General highlighted Africa’s central role in global ocean efforts. He cited Africa’s Integrated Maritime Strategy (AIMS 2050) as a model for regional cooperation on maritime security and ocean governance. Despite this spotlighting, AIMS 2050 urgently needs to review its approach, adapt to new threats and new actors, and better coordinate continental maritime policy-making.
Time is running out, as this year marks the end of the ‘Decade of African seas and oceans’ (2015 to 2025). This should prompt calls for renewed leadership and strategy updates to face current and emerging maritime security threats.
Momentum to address issues fluctuated over the decade. The African Union (AU) began the period by launching the flagship AIMS 2050. However, it soon prioritised the African Charter on Maritime Security and Safety and Development in Africa (Lomé Charter 2016) as the way to anchor maritime security into continental decision-making. The charter remained the AU’s priority during the decade, yet it was a different, the older charter ― the revised African Maritime Transport Charter (adopted by the AU in 2010) ― that finally reached in 2025 the 15 ratifications needed to enter into force.
There have now been five years of sustained attention on maritime security at the Peace and Security Council (PSC), most recently at the 1275th PSC meeting on 23 April 2025. However, the issue must continue to be institutionalised. This will require regular policy reviews, dedicated budget lines, standing institutions and continuous operational activity undertaken by a coordination mechanism or maritime security unit. Three flagship initiatives, derived from the most recent PSC communiqué and the past practices and challenges confronting AU initiatives, should be prioritised to turn maritime aspirations into achievements.
Three flagship initiatives should be prioritised to turn maritime aspirations into achievements
First is the establishment of an African maritime security expert group to enhance coordination, knowledge and experience-sharing among member states. Evidence from similar initiatives suggests that informal, compact and evolving expert-driven platforms can be crucial in supporting decision-makers. For instance, the AU’s cybersecurity expert group established in 2019 demonstrates how a small unit can provide support and overcome fragmented implementation efforts.
The AU Assembly has repeatedly called for a maritime group. In 2020, for instance, it requested that the AU Commission put in place a consultative forum to periodically review progress in the maritime domain. In December 2022, at its 1128th meeting, the PSC reiterated this call, entreating the AU Commission to establish a body of experts or a taskforce to coordinate, share knowledge and make recommendations on maritime security. The body would provide technical expertise to member states and other stakeholders, enhancing maritime security capabilities and facilitating and strengthening interdepartmental coordination.
Maritime issues span several AU departments, sometimes impeding coordination of efforts. For instance, the Sustainable Environment and Blue Economy Directorate of the AU Commission’s Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment implements policies, programmes and strategies on sustainable use of ocean resources. These efforts cannot be separated from maritime insecurity issues. The directorate must enhance collaboration with the AU Political Affairs, Peace and Security Department(PAPS) and the Office of Legal Counsel – the other custodians of maritime security work.
As with every such initiative, success hinges on overcoming chronic underfunding. The intention is for the expert security group to have no direct financial implications for the AU Commission. While this approach may increase the likelihood of the group being formally established, the absence of dedicated funding may undermine its effectiveness and long-term sustainability.
…success hinges on overcoming chronic underfunding
A viable solution is to encourage member states to second experts to the group, which would reinforce national ownership and strengthen state engagement in shaping maritime priorities. To maintain quality and coherence, the AU Commission could ensure that secondees meet technical standards.
Broad participation in the design and operation of the group should be prioritised among AU organs and departments, regional economic communities, national maritime authorities, industry, academia, thinktanks and civil society.
A second priority ― stemming from the 1128th PSC meeting of 19 December 2022 ― encouraged the AU Commission to conduct a maritime command-post exercise. Amani Africa III, organised by the peace and security department, would be the first maritime exercise under the African Standby Force’s umbrella. Rather than at-sea or live-fire activities, it would test command and control functions through simulations of piracy, illegal fishing or an emergency such as landing troops to mount a seaborne evacuation of civilians. The security expert group could assist in developing the scenarios, evaluating the responses and providing a platform for reflection and lesson learning.
The exercise would be linked to ongoing efforts by taskforces such as the combined maritime taskforce to coordinate a response, including aligning with the standby force’s information sharing, decision making and deployment planning. A taskforce was established in 2023 in the Gulf of Guinea to provide rapid, coordinated kinetic responses to piracy and armed robbery threats. It conducts coordinated patrols and joint operations and shares information, mirroring the operational approach of combined maritime forces such as those in the Indian Ocean and Red Sea.
The PSC has stressed the need for a group to advise the AU on maritime security
The taskforce demonstrates how regionally driven platforms can align with and further AU objectives by enhancing capacity and capability. The Gulf of Guinea force should be a standing platform for regional expert engagements, feeding insights and operational lessons into continental processes. The PSC has repeatedly called for forces to be established in other regions, most recently in its 23 April 2025 communiqué, as the Gulf of Guinea force demonstrates a concrete regional ownership model and proactive, African-led responsiveness to maritime threats.
The third initiative is the revival of a chiefs of African navies and/or coastguards forum. The PSC, notably in the communiqué of its 1128th meeting, has stressed the need for a working group to advise the AU on maritime security. This encouraged the AU Commission to assist member states to convene the inaugural meeting of the committee of heads of African navies and coastguards. Communiqués of the 1174th, 1209th and 1275th meetings requested that the first working group meeting take place.
While the security experts group would bring together experts for ad-hoc briefings, the committee is envisaged as a more formal, diplomatic and permanent platform for coordination and cooperation among senior officials of African navies and coastguards. Each state would designate a liaison officer, which could reduce the red tape that often undermines cooperation, while building trust and improving information- and resource sharing.
The group would gain from being included in other ongoing initiatives. In 2024, for instance, South Africa convened the most recent iteration of the Sea Power for Africa Symposium. This is a major continental forum at which African naval leaders discuss maritime security, regional cooperation and strategies such as AIMS 2050. The navies and coastguards committee could be convened during this event, which is designed for strategic dialogue and consensus building.
It could recommend priority reforms based on insights from often-neglected African naval and coastguard perspectives. This should become a biannual briefing to the PSC ― assisted by the security experts’ group ― translating technical and operational insights into strategic advice for policymakers and ensuring momentum is sustained.
