(NEWS) New EU CRIMARIO project to tackle cross-border issues in the Indian Ocean

July

2015

New EU CRIMARIO project to tackle cross-border issues in the Indian Ocean

On July 3rd 2015, the European Union (EU) officially launched the new EU CRIMARIO project to tackle cross-border issues in the Indian Ocean by developing regional cooperation and coordination between maritime agencies in the wider region. A partner in this ambitious effort, World Maritime University (WMU) was represented by Assistant Professor (Safety & Security) Dimitrios Dalaklis. Participating in the WMU team is also Associate Professor Aref Fakhry. It was further proposed to involve other resources available within the Maritime Risk and System Safety (MARISA) Group in the overall activities. The project was first implemented this year and is expected to run until 2019, with a budget of €5.5 million.

The Indian Ocean represents the world’s third largest ocean, providing the setting for a very large number of oil shipments. The threats on the maritime routes remain significant, even if piracy and armed robbery at sea have decreased in recent years. Overcoming those cross-border issues at sea requires regional cooperation and inter-agency coordination. The Critical Maritime Routes (CMR) program launched the EU CRIMARIO project, in order to increase awareness about potential risks or threats in the Indian Ocean (known as maritime situational awareness-MSA), together with capacity building, information data sharing, and improvement of maritime governance.

The project will support the coastal countries of the Indian Ocean rim in putting together data from various maritime sources such as national and international agencies, the maritime industry, and non-governmental organisations, to achieve a global understanding of the maritime domain, therefore increasing maritime security.

As a contribution in this ambitious task, WMU will provide technical assistance and other necessary support in three main areas:

1) Creation of a global information sharing network. It will rely on Information Fusion Centres, dedicated to analyse and evaluate the existing data and provide information to relevant authorities. Two information centres will be supported by EU CRIMARIO (one in the Northern Indian Ocean and the other in the South).

2) Building a capacity-building network. It will be based on the existing training facilities available in the region, to develop the culture of Maritime Situational Awareness and improve the inter-agency approach.

3) Improving operational policies and maritime governance. The aim will be to seek the creation of common methodologies and, long term, to improve maritime governance in the Indian Ocean area.

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