Twenty one military officers from 8 Eastern Africa Stand by Force (EASF) Member States started a 5 day “Maritime search and Rescue course” at Rwanda Peace Academy, Musanze. The RPA Ag Director, Col Jill Rutaremara officially opened the course on 2nd December 2013.

He said “the EASF generally have big in land water masses some of which span boundaries of more than one country. The Indian Ocean coastal line in particular faces serious security and safety challenges that require intervention by both coastal and inland states”.

Col Jill Rutaremara (pictured above) further explained “that the region should develop requisite capacity to locate crews and passengers who are in distress or imminent danger at sea, retrieve them from danger and deliver them to a place of safety. This requires facilities but more importantly, personnel trained”.

Col Joern E. Rasmussen, a Danish Military Officer serving with EASF said that Maritime search and Rescue course “is a big need for Easter Africa. Unfortunately every year thousands of people perish because of accidents at sea, that is why it is very useful to build this capacity”. He noted that officers will acquire skills that will benefit their respective countries and the region at large.

The course is a result of collaborative efforts between the Eastern Africa Standby Force Coordination Mechanism (EASFCOM), the Nordic countries and Rwanda Peace Academy. The participants came from Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda.