ISTANBUL, Türkiye – The NATO-accredited Maritime Security Centre of Excellence strives to be at the forefront of Maritime Security developments across the globe. They work tirelessly to provide NATO and its partners with timely, innovative and comprehensive expertise and to help inform and upgrade capabilities in the field of Maritime Security Operations.
The Maritime Security Centre of Excellence in İstanbul, Türkiye, became NATO’s 26th accredited Centre of Excellence on June 8th, 2020, joining a broad network of other Centres of Excellence in their collective mission to spearhead knowledge and expertise, and enhance capabilities for NATO and partners. In pursuit of knowledge and excellence, the Maritime Security Centre of Excellence leverages its agility and engages with a wide range of actors from regions of interest across the globe.
With a focus on Maritime Security, this Centre prioritizes seven Maritime Security Operations Tasks outlined in NATO’s Maritime Security Operations Concept: Supporting Maritime Situational Awareness, Maritime Counter-Terrorism, Maritime Security Capacity Building, Freedom of Navigation, Maritime Interdiction Operations, Counter-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, and Maritime Critical Infrastructure Protection.
The Centre’s various strands of work are reflected in a balanced mixture of technical meetings, on-site visits, workshops, conferences, publishing, capacity building activities, and training events.
EXER MARSEC-23, the 2023 edition of the Centre’s maritime security exercise series, brought together the Yaoundé Architecture for Maritime Security in the Gulf of Guinea and representatives from NATO and partner nations for a ten-day Command Post Exercise in Nov 2023. Over 100 personnel from 35 organizations across 15 countries participated in intensive training on a wide range of maritime security challenges, including piracy, armed robbery, counter-terrorism, marine pollution, and illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing.
The Maritime Security Centre of Excellence is supporting NATO’s development of two maritime security concepts: “Cyber Intelligence in Maritime Security Operations” and “Usage of Maritime Unmanned Systems in support of Maritime Security Operations.” These concepts were requested by NATO’s Allied Maritime Command last year. To aid in concept development, the Centre conducted a series of workshops and an Operational Experimentation under the EXERCISE MARSEC-23 umbrella at Antalya Bay in the Eastern Mediterranean in October 22023. Additionally, this Centre of Excellence successfully piloted its Comprehensive Maritime Security Operations Course in December 2023.
The Maritime Security Centre of Excellence’s 4th Maritime Security Conference, a premier event focused on protecting maritime critical infrastructure and the seabed, was successfully held on June 27-28, 2024. Gathering 202 attendees from 27 countries, the conference brought together 19 esteemed panelists and 4 moderators.
In October, the initial planning conference for EXERCISE MARSEC-25 will focus on the strategically important Singapore and Malacca Straits region. The exercise will explore inter-agency cooperation, collaboration, and cooperative actions at sea to address regional maritime security challenges.
The Maritime Security Centre of Excellence also successfully executed several training programmes in 2024. These included the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code Course in February, an EXER MARSEC-23 Results Dissemination Visit in March and April, the Maritime Security Law Course in April, and the Naval Cooperation and Guidance for Shipping Course in May.
Looking ahead, the Centre will host an Online Maritime Counter Terrorism Course in October and a Comprehensive Maritime Security Operations Course at the end of November. Additionally, several workshops will focus on advancing concept development efforts in cyber intelligence and the utilization of unmanned systems for maritime security operations, as well as counter-terrorism.
NATO-accredited COEs play a vital role in the Alliance’s framework, offering expertise and experience in specific subject matter areas. While not part of the NATO Command Structure, they contribute significantly to NATO’s goals. The coordination of these centres falls under Headquarters Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, ensuring alignment with NATO’s Programme of Work. For further details on NATO Centres of Excellence, refer to the 2024 COE Catalogue.
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