Protecting Maritime Supply Chains: Interior Calls for International Partnership

The Ministry of Interior affirmed its readiness to continue exchanging expertise and knowledge and building bridges of trust and partnership to strengthen international cooperation, reinforce the integrity of maritime supply chains and counter their exploitation in criminal activities, noting that dismantling criminal networks at their source can help curb their activities and prevent illicit shipments from reaching their destination.

The Ministry also stressed the important role of the shipping sector as a key partner in these efforts, noting that its role within supply chains allows anything requiring attention to be detected at an early stage, and that the swift exchange and reporting of information before vessels sail helps reduce risks and protect communities, alongside the use of technology to uncover illicit routes and support law-abiding vessels.

This came during the Ministry of Interior’s participation in the meeting on strengthening the integrity of maritime supply chains, held on the sidelines of the Fifteenth United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in Abu Dhabi.

In her speech at the meeting, Colonel Dana Humaid Al Marzouqi, Director-General of International Affairs at the Ministry of Interior, said that since its founding the UAE has established an approach based on trust and partnership, drawing on the deep-rooted values of cooperation laid down by the Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may his soul rest in peace. She noted that confronting crimes linked to maritime supply chains requires an effective partnership between law-enforcement agencies, the shipping and ports sector and the relevant authorities.

In this context, she reviewed the UAE’s efforts in cooperation with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) through the LEC2I initiative to enhance cooperation and the exchange of expertise in countering illicit trafficking and environmental crimes.

She explained that criminal networks exploit legitimate trade flows to conceal stolen timber, smuggled wildlife and hazardous waste, using forged documents, tampered seals and routes passing through multiple ports to hide the origin of shipments.

Source: Emirates News Agency (WAM)