The IFC co-organised its 45th Shared Awareness Meeting on 29 Feb 24, in collaboration with both the Asian Shipowners' Association and the Singapore Shipping Association. The event attracted more than 200 participants who attended in-person and virtually across 12 countries, including our MARSEC partners from Regional Maritime Information Fusion Centre (RMIFC) in Madagascar, Thailand Maritime Enforcement Coordinating Centre (Thai-MECC) and Information Fusion Centre -Indian Ocean region (IFC-IOR).
The IFC also invited naval representatives from 13 countries of the Pacific & Indian Oceans Shipping Working Group (PACIOSWG) to attend SAM to enhance greater interaction with the shipping industry.
Taking into account feedback from our shipping and MARSEC partners, the IFC selected a diverse range of topics that catered to participants' interests. These included MARSEC developments in IFC's Area of Interest by CAPT Zhu Jian, China International Liaison Officer from IFC; MARSEC updates in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Guinea by CDR Eric Jaslin, MICA centre; UKMTO's operating model and MARSEC updates in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden by LT Will Benbow, Royal Navy; and updates on Operation Prosperity Guardian by CAPT David Coles, Combined Task Force 153.
Besides MARSEC speakers, we also invited subject matter experts from the maritime industry to address various topical issues, such as automatic identification system (AIS) spoofing maritime incidents by Mr Thomas Timlen, Risk Intelligence; the usage of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in maritime conflict by Mr Dan Muller, Ambrey, and Al adoption in MARSEC by Mr Chakib Abi Saab, Lloyd's Register.
The event concluded with a networking session where maritime stakeholders connected with one another and engaged in valuable discussions.
We would like to thank all participants for making the 45th SAM a successful event!