Western Indian Ocean faces $1.14 billion maritime security threat

Mauritius, 8 December 2025 (ECA) - The vital economic engine of the Western Indian Ocean which is the "Blue Economy," is being severely undermined by maritime threats that are costing the region a staggering USD 1.14 billion annually.

This dramatic figure, equivalent to 5.7% of the region's gross marine product, was revealed today at a regional meeting in Mauritius, co-convened by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC).

The three-day event, hosted at the Sofitel Hotel, centers on three activities: launching the 2025 report on the cost of maritime insecurity in the Western Indian Ocean, validating a Financial Sustainability Mechanism-a critical plan to secure long-term funding for the region's maritime security structures, and validating the IOC Blue Economy Action Plan 2026-2030.

The True Cost of Inaction

The recent ECA-IOC report enttilted: Rocking the Boat: The Socio-Economic Impact of Maritime Threats in the Western Indian Ocean (2025) lays bare the immense value and corresponding vulnerability of the WIO.

As a strategic corridor for global commerce, the region is indispensable: its total ocean asset base is conservatively valued at USD 333.8 billion, and its ocean-based industries generate at least USD 20 billion in annual output.The ocean supports millions of lives-fisheries alone employ nearly 4 million Eastern Africans, and it serves as an essential artery for an estimated 90% of African international trade.

However, persistent threats are draining this potential. Beyond the headline loss of $1.14 billion, the report highlights that even after the decline in piracy in the WIO from its 2010-2012 peak, precautionary costs and insurance premiums remain stubbornly high, with USD 164 million spent annually on counter-piracy measures alone. Environmental catastrophes, such as the MV Wakashio oil spill in 2020, have also demonstrated that a single incident can cost coastal nations hundreds of millions of dollars.

The Need for "Smart, Sustained Investment"

Emelang Leteane, Head of the Cluster on Subregional Initiatives in the UNECA Subregional Office for Eastern Africa, underscored the foundational nature of security to development. In her opening remarks, she noted that "Security enables development, and development sustains security. The Western Indian Ocean is a strategic lifeline... The cost of inaction exceeds the cost of prevention. The conclusion is clear: the costs of inaction exceed the costs of smart, sustained investment in maritime security."

Echoing this concern, Edgard Razafindravahy, Secretary-General of the IOC, addressed the financial fragility of current safeguards. He stressed that while regional arrangements like the Regional Maritime Information Fusion Centre and the Regional Coordination Operations Centre have delivered real gains, they lack stability.

"To protect livelihoods, economies, and marine ecosystems, these capabilities should be integrated into national and regional budgets, data gaps should be closed, and cooperation should deepen," said Razafindravahy. "The region's security and its blue prosperity rise and fall together."

A Plan for Sustainability

To address this financial crisis, the Rocking the Boat 2025 revision offers a clear roadmap:

Integrate Security: Maritime security must be fully integrated into all Blue Economy planning, treating challenges like IUU fishing, trafficking, and labor exploitation as interconnected systemic issues.

Secure Sustainable Funding: The report urgently calls for a predictable, sustained regional funding mechanism. This mechanism would combine contributions from Member States with revenues derived from blue economy activities to ensure the long-term operational capacity of the RMIFC and RCOC.

Operationalize shared surveillance: The region needs to harmonize national reporting formats, establish secure data-exchange protocols between states and the RMIFC, and conduct regular joint patrols coordinated by the RCOC.

Target IUU Fishing: There is a strong call to combat Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing through tighter national legislation, enhanced regional data-sharing, and transparent vessel registries to deter industrial-scale illegal fishing.

Enhance Preparedness: The WIO must create a regional contingency plan for major crises, including oil spills and climate-driven disasters, backed by pooled equipment and regular multi-agency simulation exercises.

Reinforce action against trafficking: Finally, the report recommends that the region creates a standing regional taskforce under the RMIFC, to map routes, coordinate interdictions, and facilitate legal cooperation for prosecutions.

The current workshop will transform these recommendations into reality by finalizing the long-term funding mechanism and advancing the Blue Economy Action Plan-a crucial effort to turn the region's vast ocean assets into an engine for inclusive, climate-resilient prosperity.

Issued by:
Communications Section
Economic Commission for Africa
PO Box 3001
Addis Ababa
Ethiopia
Tel: +251 11 551 5826
E-mail: [email protected]