The dark side of trade: Maritime crime in Southern Africa

DRUG trafficking, oil and fuel smuggling, and illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing are among the maritime crimes impacting South Africa, Angola, and Namibia.

- MANYANE MANYANE

This is according to a new report, Securing Africa's South Atlantic, compiled by Enact Africa, which delves into how transnational criminal networks use existing legitimate trade routes rather than preferring certain ports.

According to the report, illegal trade often passes through ports with high trade volumes, such as Durban and Walvis Bay in Namibia.

Coupled with this are often parallel legal and illegal shipments of the same commodity, which obscures illegal trade, amid limited technology and profiling abilities to identify illicit shipments.

The report noted that Angolan and Namibian waters suffer from illegal fishing, while Angola is also plagued by vessel attacks and cross-border fuel smuggling due to its rich oil deposits.

South Africa is a significant hub for cocaine transit and faces issues with poaching. Criminal networks leverage maritime resources, with corruption at various levels of government and industry exacerbating these problems.

The report stated that most cocaine entering South Africa is transported in containers from Brazil.