MARSEC COE conducted the Maritime Security Exercise 2023 (EXER MARSEC-23) between 15-24 November 2023, and the event gathered over 100 participants, representing 35 organizations (public and private) and 15 different nationalities.

The Exercise provided a realistic training environment challenging the audiences in a scenario that saw an out of region multinational force cooperate and collaborate with the Multinational Maritime Coordination Centre (MMCC) Zone D of Yaoundé Architecture for Maritime Security in a Joint Operations Area (JOA), for addressing piracy and armed robbery events, instances of IUU fishing, smuggling, trafficking, and various types of migration, maritime terrorism activities, pollution at sea incidents, and negative perception to maritime security operations in the JOA by the local populations.

The overarching aims of EXER MARSEC series are to improve cooperation, collaboration, coordination, and awareness among maritime security stakeholders, while taking the opportunity to help in developing guidelines for multinational and multi-agency engagement to address maritime security challenges in various situations.

During EXER MARSEC-23, 35 public and private organizations joined our premises in İstanbul to enjoy the training event prepared. Among them, Yaoundé Architecture for Maritime Security - YAMS (ICC, CRESMAC, CRESMAO, MMCC Zone D, MMCC Zone E), navies (Türkiye, Greece, Romania, Egypt, Indonesia), Turkish Coast Guard, Centres of Excellence and training centres (MARSEC COE, CJOS COE, NMIOTC, Hybrid COE), academia (Turkish National Defence University, Galatasaray University, Istanbul University, US Naval Postgraduate School).

YAMS being the overarching architecture for maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea Region, set in the place by the regional states, it was represented fully during the Exercise, with representatives from ICC covering the strategic level, CRESMAO and MMCC Zone E representing West Africa's framework at operational level, and CRESMAC and MMCC Zone D representing Central Africa’s framework at similar level. The MMCC Zone D team joined the activity and collaborated with the multinational audience from outside YAMS, during 4 days of intense training, resulting in many exchanged good practices, increased operational experience and readiness, exercised collaborative practice, and new and renewed collaboration and friendships.

With EXER MARSEC-23 successfully concluded on 24 November 2023, it goes without saying that this success is due in part to dedicated partners. Through their efforts and customized support, the diverse Training Audience benefited from a complex and practical training experience during the whole Exercise period.

The realism of the Exercise was considerably enhanced through the injection of real-time, near real-time, pre-collected, and/or analysed space products and data sets, with the courteous help of providers like ORBCOMM (S-AIS data, live feed), ICEYE (SAR imagery, periodic collection), MAXAR (SAR imagery, pre-exercise collection), GEOSAT (optical imagery, pre-exercise and archive collections), IMPRO (optical imagery, pre-exercise collection), Capella Space (SAR, pre-exercise collection), SatVu (Thermal imagery, pre-exercise collection), UnseenLabs (RF products, periodic collection and coupled w/ ORBCOMM products), Hawkeye 360 (RF products), CLS (data fusion and analysis), NV5 (data analysis), NİK System (cumulative products provider), and C-SIGMA (resident expertise and liaison).

EXER MARSEC-23 benefited from the dedicated support of HAVELSAN and etetechnology, companies that worked together to deliver to the audience a sound and reliable simulation environment via MATRA®, etecube® and hymots® software, with HAVELSAN’s MATRA® platform integrating and displaying several space and remote sensing data feeds, S-AIS and SAR respectively.

This wide presence also shows that strengthening the civil-military cooperation holds so much value for Maritime Security.