TANZANIA: ISPS CODE DEMARCHE DELIVERED

UNCLAS DAR ES SALAAM 000122

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT AF/E FOR JLIDDLE
LONDON FOR IMO LIAISON

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EWWT ECON ETRD KHLS PTER PREL TZ
SUBJECT: TANZANIA: ISPS CODE DEMARCHE DELIVERED

REF: STATE 1057


1. (SBU) A/DCM and Poloff delivered ref demarche to MFA Europe and
Americas Director Radhia Msuya Feb. 10 and explained the 90 day
deadline for Tanzanian ports to comply with the ISPS code. Msuya
did not have a substantive response, but remarked that if the U.S.
were to provide funding, the GOT would be sure to take the necessary
action. We explained that the U.S. sought only to ensure that
Tanzania met its current obligations, not additional requirements.


2. (SBU) On February 16, Zanzibar Affairs Officer and Specialist met
with Stonetown Port Captain Mustafa Jumbe and delivered reftel
points. Jumbe had met with visiting Coast Guard officers during
their last inspection visit and was aware of the issue. Since that
visit, the port had hired guards and made some of the recommended
changes. On the guards, some more work still needed to be done in
terms of hiring better caliber officers, establishing training
procedures and buying more uniforms. However, the biggest item
remaining had to do with securing the main port from the public dhow
area. Jumbe said there were five different cooperatives he had to
negotiate with, and it was a tricky political situation. There were
also Zanzibari vs. Union of Tanzania funding issues to navigate.
The port was Zanzibar's main tie to the world, so he said the
government was serious about the issue.


3. (SBU) CDA and Poloff met Feb. 23 with Minister of Infrastructure
Development Shukuru Kawambwa to ensure that the message reached the
relevant ministry. The Minister and his staff were aware of the
issue but had not received a formal notification from MFA. Kawambwa
said he understood the need for action before the deadline and would
task the appropriate officials to respond. Assistant Director of
Maritime Transport Fungafunga said that the Tanzania Port Authority
had already taken some steps based on the informal readout from U.S.
Coast Guard visitors who inspected the ports in July 2007. He said
fencing deficiencies had been rectified at all mainland ports. The
port of Dar es Salaam, which handles the vast majority of Tanzanian
exports, now had 24-hour police patrols, and a World Bank-funded
tender had been issued for closed-circuit TV. In addition, Dar es
Salaam port staff would attend a training session in advance of ISPS
Code training to be given by Coast Guard experts the week of March

3. Zanzibar Port Captain Jumbe later confirmed that he would also
attend the session.


4. (U) Comment: The autonomous archipelago of Zanzibar has a highly
complicated relationship with the central government based on the
mainland. Even sectors that are formally under central government
control, such as ports, are effectively under the administration of
Zanzibar officials. Most Zanzibaris perceive the relationship as
one of two separate nations that have agreed to some strictly
limited pooling of sovereignties. We recommend that the U.S. Coast
Guard differentiate between mainland ports on the one hand and
Zanzibar ports on the other, since they are effectively under two
different managements. For Tanzania as a whole, about 95 percent of
all international cargo goes through the mainland port of Dar es
Salaam.

ANDRE