The AIS network of Kenya will benefit from equipment provision, installation and maintenance provided by EU CRIMARIO. The final timeline was agreed on 3rd September beside the IORIS inauguration, for a complete set-up by end of May 2019.
During a side meeting held at IORIS inauguration in Mahé (3rd September), Kenya delegates, EU CRIMARIO and European Commission’s representatives updated each other and agreed on timeline for installing four AIS transponders, associate hardware, and one server equipped with Pelagus software.
The beneficiary of the AIS equipment is Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) through Mombasa port with the establishment of a Joint Operations Centre (JOC) making it available for all agencies.
According to the timeline, site surveys will be be conducted in 4 coastal sites, on mid-November 2018, prior to this installation. After administrative clearance, the deployment of equipment will occur by end of May 2019.
An initial training was delivered by Elman company, the equipment provider, in Roma on November 2017. Additional training will be organized after the site acceptance test (SAT).
The Kenya Delegation was led by the Principle Secretary of State Department for Maritime Shipping & Maritime Affairs, Ms Nancy Karigithu with representatives of Department of Defence and KPA. The EU side gathered the programme manager of European Commission, CRIMARIO project coordinator and Expertise France managers; the whole process being coordinated by David Nattrass, CRIMARIO information sharing component manager.
With this new equipment, the Kenyan AIS network will be able to monitor more coastal areas as well as share information with different maritime agencies (KPA, KMA, Navy, Revenue Authority, Fishing Department, etc).
This process is part of the new maritime security infrastructure in Kenya, which has included the establishment of a Coast Guard, a new security legislation and the establishment of a Joint Operations Centre (JOC) to share information with all agencies involved in maritime security. The JOC will be under the border management control bringing everybody onboard who has a security component at national level.