UNIPATH STAFF
The Sultanate of Oman is responsible for surveillance and law enforcement along its 3,000-kilometer coastline. The Omani Coast Guard secures this strategic territory and combats crimes at sea with the cooperation of the country’s Armed Forces. That’s why the sultanate has increasingly upgraded the Coast Guard’s equipment and weapons systems.
“The command is very eager to keep all equipment and training up to date to meet the new threats. In fact, we received new boats with high-tech instruments which will improve the productivity and accuracy of the missions,” Coast Guard Commander Brig. Gen. Bader Bin Khalfan Al-Zejali said.
“Additionally, there are a few projects on the way, including a fleet of boats, and other navy technology that meet the international standard of a modern navy. Once this equipment arrives, it will transform our Coast Guard and improve our service as well as eliminate smuggling and trafficking. We at the command are considering establishing Coast Guard centers in every coastal province.”
Fighting drug trafficking is a major function of the Coast Guard. An Omani survey showed that drug smuggling decreased 3 percent in 2014 because of increased vigilance. Human trafficking and smuggling illegal workers to the sultanate decreased as well.
Piracy has spared Omani territorial waters, despite the strategic location of the Gulf of Oman and Strait of Hormuz, Gen. Al-Zejali said. “Media reports regarding piracy in our national waters is incorrect. Most of these attacks took place in international waters and sometimes hundreds of miles away,” he said.
The Coast Guard works around the clock to fight maritime crime and maintain border security in cooperation with land forces and other government agencies.
“We have doubled our efforts to make our national waterways safe for ship traffic, fight piracy and increase the security presence,” the general said. “Additionally, we take preventive measures and carefully inspect suspected ships as well as send alerts to passing ships regarding any piracy incidents in the area.”
Source: Royal Oman Police website