LIBERIA: REHABILITATING A TROUBLED BUT PROPITIOUS MARITIME

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 MONROVIA 001293

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR AF/W PDAVIS, INR/AA BGRAVES, AF/RSA JUN BANDO
SECNAVY FOR OPNAV N84 AUGUSTUS VOGEL
USEUCOM FOR CNE-C6F DANIEL TROTT, DAVID MORALES
COGARD FOR IPSLO ACTIVITIES EUROPE ADAM SHAW, DOUG SCHNEIDER

E.O.12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON EWWT EFIS PHSA SENV LI
SUBJECT: LIBERIA: REHABILITATING A TROUBLED BUT PROPITIOUS MARITIME
SECTOR

REFS: (A) MONROVIA 1070
(B) MONROVIA 1007
(C) MONROVIA 846
(D) MONROVIA 708
(E) MONROVIA 627
(F) MONROVIA 610


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The Liberian maritime sector has a unique and
vibrant past, but years of war and neglect have taken a toll on the
fishing industry (ref A),the port (ref B),and overall maritime
control and security inside Liberia's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
Although Liberia's U.S.-based ship registry (LISCR) is still the
world's second largest and a notable contributor to the government's
budget, Liberian employment in the maritime industry is negligible
and the country's maritime academy moribund. Security at the Port
of Monrovia falls short of International Ship and Port Facility
Security (ISPS) compliance and the country does not have a coast
guard or any other marine security assets. The Government of
Liberia (GOL) is seeking to address these and other shortfalls in
maritime governance and security with a variety of efforts: a
conference on and draft legislation regarding international search
and rescue; proposals for the re-establishment of a Maritime
Training Institute; requests for coast guard and other marine
security and surveillance assistance; and consideration of a plan to
privatize part or all of the Monrovia Freeport, including port
security. Strong political will for reform suggests abundant
potential for leveraging upcoming USG technical assistance. END
SUMMARY.

--------------
LIBERIA TO BECOME REGIONAL
MARITIME SEARCH AND RESCUE HUB
--------------


2. (U) Liberia hosted a regional Maritime Search and Rescue
conference in Monrovia in collaboration with the International
Maritime Organization (IMO) from September 25-27, 2007. Liberia was
recently selected by the IMO to serve as the Regional Coordinating
Center for Maritime Search and Rescue (SAR) in the West Africa
Region. The Monrovia conference was attended by representatives
from the IMO West Africa Zone: Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea and
Sierra Leone.


3. (U) In connection with the conference, President Johnson Sirleaf
forwarded two bills to the Liberia National Legislature for the
creation of a Maritime Search and Rescue Center, and for
ratification of the International Search and Rescue Convention of
1979, which came into effect in 1985. Both bills were passed by the
Legislature and forwarded to the President for her signature and
passage into law. Bureau of Maritime Affairs (BMA) Deputy
Commissioner Yvonne Clinton told Econoff October 18 that an IMO
consultant is scheduled to arrive in November to help identify a
site for the SAR headquarters. IMO will provide some initial
(unspecified) equipment and training but the overall headquarters
will be financed by the GOL.

-------------- --------------
MARITIME SECURITY - UPCOMING VISIT TO ENHANCE AIS
-------------- --------------


4. (SBU) Liberia currently has access to a basic Automatic
Identification System (AIS) set up in collaboration with Lloyd's of
London and the United Nations Mission to Liberia (UNMIL) to track
ships in West Africa. Liberia provided the sites and electricity,
Lloyd's provided the equipment, and UNMIL helped install two
antennae, in addition to access terminals at the Ministry of Defense
(MOD) and BMA. A team from the U.S. Navy is expected to arrive in
Liberia on October 31 to conduct site surveys for the installation
of additional AIS equipment. At present, the BMA uses AIS data to
monitor cargo ships coming to and from the port of Monrovia. The
GOL also established a Surveillance Task Force consisting of
representatives from the Bureau of National Fisheries, the BMA, the
MOD, the Ministry of Finance, the National Port Authority and United
Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL).


5. (SBU) Liberia does not have a navy and securing the country's
coastal waters is in theory the duty of the demobilized Liberian
Coast Guard. Without a functioning coast guard, Liberia is unable

MONROVIA 00001293 002 OF 004


to intercept unauthorized or suspicious vessels and there are often
reports of rogue fishing vessels from China and other African
countries (and perhaps Europe and other Asian countries) illegally
traversing the country's coastal waters. In June, a large ship was
stolen from the port of Monrovia (refs E and F) and Liberian
authorities could do nothing but watch the ship flee on the AIS
monitors. The Marine Surveillance Task Force intends to procure a
patrol vessel that will be used in conjunction with the AIS. (Note:
AIS only tracks ships over 300 tons that are required by the
International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) to
have AIS transponders. Fishing boats are not required by the
International Maritime Organization to have transponders and thus
AIS will not necessarily help detect illegal fishing unless local
laws are enacted to require AIS in smaller vessels. End note).


6. (U) The Ministry of Agriculture recently completed a National
Fisheries and Aquaculture Policy that encourages community
participation in maritime security and natural resource management.
The GOL is proposing a co-management regime in fisheries
surveillance between the government and fishermen that will provide
legal support to ensure all restrictions on artisanal fishing
grounds are observed at the community level. In addition, fishermen
will be encouraged to participate in monitoring, control and
surveillance (MCS) activities and will be equipped with portable
radars and radios to report to an inter-agency MCS coordinating unit
any illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing including
poaching, transshipment at sea and encroachments in unauthorized
fishing zones by industrial vessels.

--------------
THE ONCE AND FUTURE LIBERIAN COAST GUARD
--------------


7. (U) The Liberian National Coast Guard (LCG) began operations in
1959 after the delivery of two 40-foot patrol boats donated by the
United States. By the mid-1980s, the LCG force consisted of six
patrol craft (three 50-ton, Swedish-built coastal patrol crafts that
were delivered in 1980 as well as three smaller American built
patrol craft delivered in 1976) and some 450 officers based at
Freeport in Monrovia, as well as at smaller bases in Buchanan,
Greenville and Harper. The Coast Guard was once considered the
best-trained and most professional component of the Armed Forces of
Liberia (AFL),but war, neglect, and corruption left the coast guard
fleet immobilized and effectively defunct. The Liberian Coast Guard
folded into the Liberian Navy in 1986, was officially demobilized
along with the Armed Forces of Liberia in 2006, and has yet to be
reorganized.


8. (U) In 2007, the Ministry of Defense established an
inter-Ministerial Task Force to examine the legal groundwork
necessary to establish a Coast Guard, and the Ministry of Defense
submitted a formal request to the United States for assistance in
assessing port and Coast Guard needs. The first step required for
the creation of a Coast Guard is the passage of the National Defense
Act which authorizes the establishment of a Coast Guard. The MOD is
in the process of revising that Act for presentation to the
Legislature in January 2008. In addition, in order to be eligible
for USG assistance via the Office of Defense Cooperation (ODC) the
coast guard must be established under the Ministry of Defense. ODC
participates on the Coast Guard Task Force meetings along with
representatives from the BMA, Liberian Seaport Police (LSP),Bureau
of Customs and Excise (BCE),and Bureau of Immigration and
Naturalization (BIN).

-------------- --------------
PORT SECURITY - ISPS STILL ELUDES MONROVIA FREEPORT
-------------- --------------


9. (SBU) Liberia continues to make slow progress toward implementing
the International Ship and Port Facility (ISPS) code in the Freeport
of Monrovia. The National Port Authority (NPA) is an autonomous
port authority, rather than a government agency, and is only an
"implied" designated authority for the review, approval and verity
of Port Facility Security Plans (PFSP). A Joint Security
Coordination Committee meets weekly to discuss Freeport security and
includes representatives from UNMIL, Customs, NPA, the Liberian
Seaport Police (LSP),the Liberian National Police (LNP) and others.
Following a spate of thefts in May 2007, the GOL shuffled the

MONROVIA 00001293 003 OF 004


leadership of the LSP, placing ex-Deputy Director of the Special
Security Services (SSS),Ashford Peal, in charge (ref D). Security
at the port is currently provided by an unwieldy patchwork of
private security guards, LSP, LNP and UNMIL troops - a mixture that
led to a shootout at the port between the LNP and LSP in July 2007
(ref C). At present, security forces have only a pair of leased
motorized canoes on the water, although the NPA is expecting
delivery of a 27-foot Boston Whaler the NPA purchased from the
United States to use for security inside the port.


10. (SBU) The United States Coast Guard (USCG) has visited the port
of Monrovia on several occasions, most recently for a March 2007
ISPS survey. Although progress has been made in addressing lapses in
perimeter security, ID and vehicle control, and security patrols
have been increased near the oil jetty, ISPS certification still
eludes the NPA. Post has requested further USCG assistance to help
Liberia comply with ISPS Code. A follow-up USCG mission is
scheduled to arrive in Monrovia in January 2008.

--------------
AFRICA PARTNERSHIP STATION -
A CHANCE TO FOCUS ON MARITIME ISSUES
--------------


11. (SBU) Liberia is scheduled to participate in the deployment of
the Africa Partnership Station (APS) to West Africa in 2007-08. APS
has several interventions planned for Liberia, including medical
training to coincide with arrival of the USS Fort McHenry in
November, as well as humanitarian civic assistance (school and
clinic renovations),Project Hope health training and outreach and
other community relations activities during the visit of the USS
Fort McHenry and HSV Swift in March 2008. The APS visit presents an
opportunity to improve maritime domain awareness and security/safety
at sea in Liberia. Post has requested that APS planners include
activities related to marine security and coastal resource
management on the APS schedule, and Embassy Econoff is working with
the Office of the Oceanographer of the Navy on a specific proposal
for a Fisheries Management meeting in Monrovia during the Fort
McHenry visit in March.

-------------- --------------
REBUILDING AND REFORMING LIBERIA'S MARITIME INDUSTRY
-------------- --------------


12. (U) Liberia's Maritime program has been a source of pride, and
controversy. The Liberian ship registry is the second largest in
the world and a major source of revenue for the GOL (expected
revenues of USD13 million in the 2007-08 budget represent roughly
six percent of total government revenue). Liberia now has 2,300
vessels registered under its maritime program. As the only stable
and substantial source of revenue during the 1990s, the registry was
often squeezed by government officials for revenues to fund the
country's conflicts or for personal gain. The program was managed
by the International Trust Company (ITC) until 1999 when President
Charles Taylor's government awarded the contract to manage the
maritime program to the Liberia Shipping and Corporate Registry
(LISCR) based in Vienna, Virginia. Revenues from LISCR now flow
directly to the Ministry of Finance without passing through the
Bureau of Maritime Affairs (BMA).


13. (U) Aside from the flow of revenues to the central budget,
however, Liberians have benefited relatively little from the
maritime sector. Ships that fly Liberia's "flag of convenience" are
expected to employ Liberian nationals but the Liberian Seafarers and
Port Workers Union of Liberia notes that the provision is rarely
enforced. A generation of potential Liberian seafarers has been
lost since the collapse of the Merchant Marine Academy in 1992. The
Bureau of Maritime Affairs is seeking funding to revive the Liberian
Maritime Training Institute (LMTI) in Marshall, Margibi County, in
order to properly train and certify more Liberians for employment in
the maritime sector. The Global Maritime and Transportation School
at the United States Merchant Marine Academy recently completed a
feasibility study for the re-establishment of the LMTI. In the
meantime, the BMA has moved forward with a small training program
for roughly 30 students at offices in Monrovia and potential
practical training in collaboration with a school in Ghana.


14. (SBU) The Government of Liberia has expressed its desire to

MONROVIA 00001293 004 OF 004


repeal the 1989 law governing the BMA and reintegrate the BMA into
the Ministry of Finance. The nature and scope of the integration is
yet to be decided, but a draft audit financed by the European
Commission in 2006-07 suggested that the MOF would manage and
oversee international maritime program revenue while the BMA would
continue to operate with technical and operational autonomy as a
maritime industry regulator. BMA Deputy Commissioner Yvonne Clinton
said the GOL was awaiting a second audit by the IMO in November 2007
before deciding how to proceed. (Note: President Sirleaf recently
fired BMA Commissioner John Morlu for unspecified reasons and later
reinstated him to carry on official duties as Commissioner of BMA
after reports emerged that the man named to replace Morlu, John
Stewart, was implicated in fraud in the United States. End note).

--------------
PORT REFORM - AN AGREEMENT WITHIN REACH?
--------------


15. (SBU) The Monrovia Freeport is the only functioning lifeline for
seaborne cargo into and out of Liberia. After years of
mismanagement, neglect and corruption, port operations at present
are inefficient, port security is insufficient and port
infrastructure is inadequate. The GOL and international partners
are currently in the process of drafting a Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) that will outline plans for a Build-Operate
Transfer (BOT) agreement between the GOL and a private partner for
either a container terminal concession or a master concession for
the entire Monrovia Freeport. According to initial discussions
between the GOL and international donors, the signing of the MOU
would trigger the release of up to USD one million of World Bank
funds for the immediate implementation of an emergency contingency
plan to help ensure continued port operations in the event of a
major structural breakdown. The MOU would also specify a timeline
for a final GOL decision on the scope of the BOT, outline external
assistance to improve port operations and prepare bid documents, and
detail additional donor-funded investment in infrastructure and
technical assistance to help maintain a viable, functioning port
until more substantial modernization investment occurs under the
BOT. An MOU could be concluded as early as November.

--------------
COMMENT
--------------


16. (U) Liberia's maritime sector has the potential to generate
substantial revenue and employment but is hampered by a weakened
regulatory structure and a complete devastation of marine sector
assets. The United States has provided financial and technical
assistance to the economically vital port of Monrovia, and has
initiated surveys and discussions for providing additional
assistance for port security, maritime security and the
re-establishment of a Liberian Coast Guard. There is a need (and
much potential) to leverage assistance already planned for the
maritime sector into other areas of relative neglect, particularly
in fisheries, freshwater biodiversity and coastal management.

BOOTH