The 13th General Assembly of Ministers of the Maritime Organization of West and Central Africa (MOWCA), which took place in Dakar, Senegal, on 30 July 2008, concluded with the adoption of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the establishment of a Sub-regional Coastguard Network for the West and Central African sub-region, aimed at improving maritime safety, security and environmental protection.

The MoU follows a feasibility study undertaken by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the IMO/MOWCA forum on the establishment of an integrated coast guard function network for West and Central African Countries, held in Dakar in October 2006. The MoU provides an institutional framework for, inter alia: addressing illegal fishing, oil theft, damage to gas pipelines and maritime accident response in the sub-region; and guidelines for enforcement of international conventions, regulations and codes – principally those of IMO and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Link to further information
IMO press release, 12 August 2008