FREETOWN, Oct 2, 2026 — The Sierra Leone Navy has completed a new anti-piracy and maritime security training with the Portuguese Navy to strengthen its capacity to secure the country’s waters against piracy, illegal fishing and drug trafficking.
The training, held in Freetown, was funded by the European Union under its Support to West Africa Integrated Maritime Security (SWAIMS) programme and delivered by instructors from the Portuguese Navy frigate NRP Álvares Cabral, currently deployed in the Gulf of Guinea.
The exercise focused on the core skills needed for anti-piracy operations — maritime surveillance and detection, fast interception using Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats (RHIBs), boarding and searching suspect vessels, and proper collection and handling of evidence to secure convictions.
The Gulf of Guinea remains the world’s most dangerous region for piracy and armed robbery at sea, accounting for most global incidents in recent years according to the International Maritime Bureau. While Sierra Leone has recorded fewer direct pirate attacks than Nigeria and Ghana, its 200-nautical-mile Exclusive Economic Zone is vulnerable to illegal boarding, fuel smuggling and as a transit corridor for narcotics moving from South America to Europe.
Sierra Leone’s waters are also hit by rampant illegal fishing, which costs the country an estimated $50 million annually and threatens livelihoods of over 500,000 artisanal fishermen.
The SWAIMS project, a €29 million EU initiative covering seven ECOWAS states and implemented by Portugal’s Instituto Camões, provides training, patrol boats and communication equipment to coastal states to enforce law at sea.
The training concluded with a reception hosted Monday by EU Ambassador Jacek Jankowski aboard the NRP Álvares Cabral. Present were Deputy Foreign Minister Jeneba Bangura, Internal Affairs Minister Morie Lengor, and the frigate’s commander Lt. Commander Nelson Santos Martins.
Officials said the partnership will improve joint patrols and intelligence sharing, and will help Sierra Leone protect its maritime trade routes, through which more than 80% of the country’s imports pass.
The Portuguese frigate is expected to hold joint anti-piracy patrols with the Sierra Leone Navy off the Freetown Peninsula before continuing its regional deployment.
