U.S. Embassy
Avenida Kenneth Kaunda, 193
Caixa Postal, 783
Maputo
MOZAMBIQUE
PRESS RELEASE
U.S. Embassy donates Boarding Team Equipment to Mozambican Navy
August 24, 2017 – The U.S. Embassy’s Office of Security Cooperation (OSC) donated $40,000 of boarding team equipment to the Mozambican Navy at the Mozambican Naval Headquarters this past Tuesday.
Seeking to strengthen the Mozambican maritime security capability, the OSC provided equipment to outfit a six-person visit, board, search, and seizure (VBSS) team. The VBSS team boards shipping vessels in Mozambican territorial waters to conduct customs and safety inspections, seeking to deter illegal fishing, piracy, smuggling of illicit drugs, and illegal immigration. The OSC works with the Navy annually to strengthen this competency, sending Mozambican Sailors and Marines to Boarding Officer Courses and supporting Mozambican participation in the CUTLASS EXPRESS exercise series.
The U.S. Embassy partners with the Mozambican Ministry of Defense to confront transnational organized crime and illicit trafficking. Strengthening the VBSS capability within the Mozambican Navy is one means of confronting and deterring the criminal entities operating within the nation’s territorial waters.
For more information about this press release, please contact the U.S. Embassy Maputo Press Office at MaputoPress@state.gov.
###
