African security leaders and international partners have called for stronger continental cooperation, intelligence-sharing and sustainable investment to address evolving maritime threats, as the maiden African Maritime Security Forum opened at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) in Accra on Wednesday, October 14.
The two-day forum, held under the theme “The African Maritime Landscape in Times of Geopolitical Uncertainty in 2026 and Onwards”, brings together maritime security practitioners, naval leaders, policymakers, academics and international partners to develop practical responses to threats affecting Africa’s coastal states and strategic shipping routes.
The event has attracted 66 registered participants, with representation from Nigeria, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, South Africa, France, Denmark, Britain, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Togo, Madagascar, the United States, Kenya and Sierra Leone.
Ghana’s Minister for Defence, Kenneth Gilbert Adjei, formally opened the forum, urging African countries to move beyond policy declarations and strengthen coordinated, intelligence-led operations to combat piracy, trafficking, illegal fishing and other forms of transnational maritime crime.
He warned that maritime threats transcend national borders and require collaboration among governments, navies, law enforcement agencies, regional organisations, industry players and international partners.
Mr Adjei stressed that Africa’s seas must be protected not only as strategic trade routes but also as vital sources of livelihoods, economic opportunity and sustainable development. He highlighted Ghana’s maritime security partnership with Denmark, citing training, simulation facilities and operational support for the Ghana Navy and other security institutions.
KAIPTC Commandant calls for continent-wide approach
The Commandant of KAIPTC, Air Vice Marshal David A. Akrong, said the expansion of maritime security discussions beyond the Gulf of Guinea reflected the increasingly interconnected nature of threats across Africa’s maritime domain.
He noted that the new forum would connect security concerns affecting the Gulf of Guinea, southern African shipping routes and the western Indian Ocean, enabling countries to develop coordinated responses to shared challenges.
While acknowledging significant progress in reducing piracy in the Gulf of Guinea through regional cooperation and frameworks such as the Yaoundé Architecture, Air Vice Marshal Akrong cautioned that the underlying causes of maritime insecurity remained unresolved.
These include limited law enforcement capacity, weak coastal governance, youth unemployment, environmental degradation and marine pollution.
He also highlighted renewed piracy concerns in the Somali Basin and western Indian Ocean, alongside smuggling, human trafficking and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.
Geopolitical instability beyond Africa’s borders was another major concern. Disruptions around the Red Sea, Bab el-Mandeb and Strait of Hormuz have contributed to changes in global shipping routes, increasing traffic around southern Africa’s Cape sea route and creating wider security and economic implications for coastal states.
Air Vice Marshal Akrong called for stronger maritime domain awareness, greater use of technology, robust legal frameworks and strategies that address the root causes of insecurity.
SADC identifies funding and capability gaps
Professor Kula Ishmael Theletsane, Director of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Affairs at the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Secretariat, identified inadequate funding, fragmented policies, weak information-sharing and limited naval capabilities as major barriers to effective maritime security.
He said SADC’s Integrated Maritime Security Strategy, adopted in 2022, sought to promote a broader approach to maritime governance. However, overlapping regional and continental frameworks, institutional weaknesses and differences in national priorities continued to complicate implementation.
Professor Theletsane highlighted shortages of modern patrol vessels, aircraft and surveillance systems, warning that many countries lacked the capacity to monitor their exclusive economic zones effectively.
He also raised concerns about maritime terrorism, drug trafficking, illegal fishing and insecurity around Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province and the Mozambique Channel, where subsea cables and energy infrastructure face potential threats.
To address these challenges, he advocated sustainable regional financing, interoperable maritime assets, harmonised legislation and improved coordination among regional bodies, including SADC, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa and the East African Community.
He cautioned that regional commitments must translate into practical action, supported by stronger institutions and consistent information-sharing.
Denmark reaffirms support for African-led solutions
Denmark’s Ambassador to Ghana, Jakob Linulf, called for stronger national maritime capabilities and regional cooperation to protect shipping routes amid geopolitical tensions and disruptions to global trade.
He underscored the importance of maritime security to the international economy, noting that approximately 90 per cent of global trade is transported by sea.
The Ambassador highlighted Denmark’s cooperation with African partners through its Peace and Stabilisation Programme, which has supported anti-piracy initiatives, maritime security training and capacity-building for military and civilian security personnel.
He reaffirmed Denmark’s support for the implementation of the Yaoundé Code of Conduct in West and Central Africa and the Djibouti Code of Conduct in eastern Africa, stressing that effective cooperation is essential to safeguarding freedom of navigation.
Mr Linulf also emphasised the importance of African ownership, arguing that international partnerships should strengthen local institutions and enable countries to develop lasting solutions to shared security challenges.
Building on an established partnership
The African Maritime Security Forum builds on collaboration among KAIPTC, the Royal Danish Defence College and the Security Institute for Governance and Leadership in Africa at Stellenbosch University in South Africa.
Since 2022, the three institutions have organised annual maritime security conferences, initially focusing on the Gulf of Guinea. Discussions in Stellenbosch in 2024 and 2025 also examined developments in the Red Sea and their implications for African coastal states.
The new continental platform represents an expansion of that partnership, recognising that maritime threats, shipping disruptions and criminal networks increasingly connect different regions.
Participants are expected to examine the implications of geopolitical developments for African maritime governance and produce actionable recommendations to strengthen national, regional and cross-regional security policies.