Final planning conference for Grand African NEMO 2025 concludes in Accra

Naval leaders, coastguards, and maritime authorities from across the Gulf of Guinea have concluded the final planning conference for Grand African NEMO (GANO) 2025.

Held at the Lancaster Hotel in Accra, the three-day conference brought together representatives from the Yaoundé Architecture, State Action at Sea organisations, and international partners including France, Italy, Spain, Denmark, and Portugal.

Scheduled to take place from 10th to 17th November, Grand African NEMO 2025 will be the eighth edition of the exercise.

It is co-organised by the Yaoundé Architecture and the French Navy, and it brings together 19 coastal nations from Senegal to Angola.

The Accra conference, which builds on the main planning session held in Brest, France, in June, gathered over 60 participants from across West and Central Africa and Europe.

Delegates worked collaboratively to finalise the exercise scenarios based on real-life maritime challenges the region faces, including illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, piracy, drug trafficking, maritime pollution, and search-and-rescue operations.

Speaking at the opening, Captain Gérard Kerebel of the French Navy, who leads coordination of the exercise, emphasised the inclusive and community-driven nature of GANO.

“The objective of this exercise is to gather not only the navies and coastguards of the Gulf of Guinea states but also all maritime authorities and administrations in charge of maritime issues in order to create a sort of African maritime community.”

Captain Kerebel highlighted that successful maritime security operations rely on mutual trust, common procedures, and shared responsibility.

“You cannot fight maritime threats alone; you need counterparts. If an illegal fishing vessel crosses the maritime border and your neighbour doesn’t take action, the issue cannot be solved,” he explained.

He also noted that Grand African NEMO is delivering results, with many navies in the region now conducting real-world interdictions followed by successful legal prosecutions ashore.

“Each year, this exercise builds the necessary confidence between all the actors. It’s not just about intercepting vessels; it’s about ensuring the legal procedures are followed so that those responsible can be held accountable.”

Speaking at the same event, Bell Bell Emmanuel, Acting Executive Director of the Interregional Coordination Centre (ICC) based in Yaoundé, warned that IUU fishing remains the greatest maritime threat in the Gulf of Guinea, posing long-term risks to food security and the environment.

“IUU fishing is the most dangerous maritime trade in our area,” said Emmanuel. “If we don’t manage the sustainability of our resources, in the years to come it will be very difficult for us to even find fish in our waters.”

The ICC, which forms the central operational hub of the Yaoundé Architecture, works alongside Regional Fisheries Management Organisations such as the CPCO in Ghana and the CSRP in Banjul to boost Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) and ensure a timely response to illicit maritime activities.

“We detect, classify, and share information with navies and coastguards. The aim is to intercept and apprehend those involved in illegal activities,” Emmanuel explained, while acknowledging the operational challenges of policing vast and often poorly monitored waters.

He called for improved inter-agency cooperation at the national level and stronger legal follow-through to ensure deterrence.

“We can apprehend at sea, but prosecution depends on following the correct procedures and engaging the relevant authorities. It’s a full chain and if one link breaks, the mission fails.”

As host of this year’s final planning conference and home to the Maritime Multinational Coordination Centre (MMCC) for Zone F, Ghana plays a central role in regional maritime security coordination.

Participants commended Ghana’s commitment to fostering cooperation and dialogue among Gulf of Guinea states.

The planning conference was seen as an important milestone ahead of GANO’s operational phase in November, during which participating nations will deploy ships, aircraft, and shore-based command centres to simulate and respond to a variety of maritime security threats.

The scale and complexity of Grand African NEMO have grown significantly in recent years.

The 2024 edition of the exercise involved 26 nations, 55 vessels, 11 aircraft, and more than 4,000 personnel across a theatre stretching from Senegal to Angola.

The 2025 edition is expected to match or exceed these figures.

According to Captain Kerebel, this growth reflects increasing recognition of the shared nature of maritime challenges and the shared responsibility to solve them.

“These are not hypothetical threats. These are the realities we face every day. By bringing people together, training together, and building confidence, we are creating the foundations of a safer and more secure maritime future.”

With just weeks to go before the exercise kicks off, participating nations are now preparing both human and material resources to ensure full operational readiness. This includes finalising deployments, logistics, and communications protocols.

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