South Africa has developed a roadmap to establish, strengthen and operationalize its National Maritime Information Sharing Centre (NMISC), during a workshop in Cape Town (3-6 August), held to strengthen inter-agency cooperation and enhance South Africa's contribution to national and regional maritime domain awareness.
The roadmap formulation workshop was organized by IMO under the Crisis Response Project for the Red Sea and the Western Indian Ocean (CRP-RedWIO), funded by the European Union. The nationally owned roadmap will strengthen South Africa's maritime information-sharing capability while reinforcing the regional Information Sharing Network established under the DCoC/JA.
A key feature of the workshop was the exchange of regional experience. Experts from the EU CRIMARIO project, the Regional Maritime Information Fusion Centre (RMIFC) in Madagascar and the Regional Coordination Operations Centre (RCOC) in Seychelles shared practical lessons on regional information sharing, operational coordination and collaborative responses to maritime incidents – highlighting how national maritime information-sharing centres contribute to collective maritime domain awareness and strengthen coordinated responses to maritime security threats across the Western Indian Ocean.
Opening the workshop, Ms. Mashudu Nepfumbada, Deputy Director (Ship & Port) in the Department of Transport, South Africa, emphasized the importance of coordinated national action, timely information sharing and strong regional partnerships for effective maritime security. "South Africa as a participating State and the current Chair of the DCoC/JA, reaffirms its commitment to advancing practical cooperation among participating States and strengthening the regional maritime security architecture across the Western Indian Ocean," she said.
Mr. Kiruja Micheni, IMO Project Manager, highlighted South Africa's strategic maritime significance as the gateway between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. He recalled how the 2023–2024 attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea, resulted in the diversion of commercial vessels around the Cape of Good Hope, reaffirming South Africa's pivotal role in safeguarding global maritime trade. He emphasized that "effective maritime security begins with effective information sharing. Strong national coordination is the foundation of enhanced maritime domain awareness and regional maritime security."
During the four-day workshop, 25 participants* from government departments, maritime law enforcement agencies, defence and security institutions, emergency response authorities, and regional maritime organizations reviewed South Africa's existing maritime information-sharing arrangements and assessed the legal, institutional, operational and technical measures required to strengthen the National Maritime Information Sharing Centre (NMISC). Discussions focused on enhancing inter-agency coordination, improving governance arrangements, developing standard operating procedures, strengthening information management processes, and identifying sustainable institutional arrangements to support the Centre.
The resulting roadmap outlines a phased approach to strengthening the NMISC. The roadmap identifies priority actions to enhance governance and coordination mechanisms, clarify institutional roles and responsibilities, improve information-sharing procedures, strengthen staffing and training arrangements, develop the necessary infrastructure and technology, and establish implementation milestones to progressively enhance the Centre's operational capability. It also ensures that South Africa's national arrangements remain interoperable with the wider Djibouti Code of Conduct (DCoC) Information Sharing Network.
Participants agreed on several immediate priority actions, including the development of a National Maritime Security Strategy and Maritime Security Risk Register, the preparation of a dedicated implementation plan with clear timelines, the appointment of an NMISC leadership team, and the identification of a suitable facility to host the Centre. The roadmap also calls for the review of existing inter-agency information-sharing agreements to enhance interoperability, as well as the development of a framework for the gradual relocation of relevant personnel and systems to the NMISC.
Additional measures to support the Centre's operationalization will include the establishment of a dedicated working group to oversee infrastructure and equipment requirements; the development of staff roles and responsibilities and standard operating procedures; the integration of technical systems; the designation of training and technical leads; and the creation of policies governing data management, cybersecurity, business continuity and resilient communications infrastructure.
The workshop forms part of IMO's ongoing efforts to support DCoC/JA participating States in establishing and strengthening National Maritime Information Sharing Centres that are nationally effective, regionally connected and capable of responding to evolving maritime security challenges through enhanced cooperation, information sharing and coordinated action.
*Representatives from the Department of Transport (DoT), South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA), South African National Defence Force – Defence Intelligence (DI), South African Maritime Safety Authority – Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC Cape Town), Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) and South African Police Service (SAPS).
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