Basseterre, St. Kitts (SKNIS): Strategies to enhance maritime safety and security were explored at the Regional Security System (RSS) Coast Guard Commanders’ Conference held at the St. Kitts Marriott Resort from October 10 to 11, 2024.
The engaging discussions revolved around the conference theme, “Maritime Security in the Sub-Region: Safety, Resilience, and Sustainment.” Participants examined strategies to bolster domain awareness, enhance collaboration, improve networking, and adopt and implement innovative information technology and web-based solutions.
Lieutenant Commander Rolerick Sobers, Regional Maritime Officer at RSS Headquarters, said that the meeting went “very well.” He was particularly pleased with the information sharing between the security forces of the RSS, as well as partners in the United States, who also participated in the meeting.
Anticipated outcomes are improved networking and coordination in executing operations and enhancing capacity within individual member states, as well as the RSS structure overall. Lt. Col. Sobers noted that involving various government maritime stakeholder agencies responsible for environmental protection, fisheries, maritime area management, etc, in several conference sessions will help ensure a coordinated response to maritime emergencies.
Captain Kenish Garnett, Officer in Command of the St. Kitts-Nevis Defence Force Coast Guard Unit, chaired the meeting. He indicated that local maritime security operations will be enhanced based on strategies shared at the two-day conference.
“The meeting attracted a unique set of maritime law enforcement experts from different backgrounds, and this provided an expanded look at emerging criminal trends and facilitated valuable intelligence sharing”, he stated. “It also will help us to build out maritime networking channels and capabilities as we discuss ways to protect our borders from best practices shared by our regional and international partners.”
Captain Garnett added that new technology tools will also be deployed to strengthen maritime domain awareness and tactical response in our territorial waters.
The RSS Coast Guard Commanders’ Conference followed on the heels of the highly successful RSS Security Chiefs Meeting on October 08 and 09. The meeting was also held at the St. Kitts Marriott Resort.