THE ABIDJAN PORT SHARPENS UP ITS SECURITY SYSTEM

Sécurité maritime Friday 15 December 2023

In order to prevent any situation that could compromise the smooth running of activities at the Abidjan Port, a full-scale security exercise was held on Thursday 26 October 2023 at the Harbour Master's Office.  

This simulation, for which considerable human and material resources were deployed, was carried out by the Maritime Operations, Safety and Environment Direction of the Abidjan Port Authority (PAA), with the involvement of all the port's safety and security stakeholders.

The exercise is part of the implementation of preventive actions required by the provisions of the ISPS Code, which is the international standard for ship and port facility security.

The session included a simulation of the test of the Abidjan Port security system, involving all the stakeholders.

At the end of the debriefing session, all those involved were unanimous on the smooth running of the operations, although a few areas for improvement were identified.

The designated authority, the General Direction of Maritime and Port Operations (DGAMP), represented by Colonel SEKA, then expressed its satisfaction with the port authority, awarding the scrolls certifying that the PAA had successfully carried out the 2023 security exercise in compliance with the standards required by the ISPS Code.

This evaluation involved the participation of the DGAMP, the UIGN (Unité d'Intervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale- national gendarmerie intervention unit), the GSP-GN (Groupe de Sécurité Portuaire de la GendarmerieNationale-national gendarmerie port security force), the CPS-PAA (Commissariat de Police Spéciale du PAA- PAA special police station), Ivorian Customs, APS-CI (RSO), Port Security, as well as PFSOs (Port Facility Security Officers) from other Abidjan Port facilities.

Note that this exercise is part of the PAA's security plan to maintain the Abidjan Port's certification to ISPS Code standards, obtained in July 2004 and regularly renewed.