VZCZCXYZ0015
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHMV #1034 3510959
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 160959Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY MONROVIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0621
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RHMFISS/CDR USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE

UNCLAS MONROVIA 001034 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: MASS MARR PREL LI
SUBJECT:  POST REQUESTS AFRICOM ASSESSMENT ON REMOVAL OF WRECKS FROM 
MONROVIA PORT 
 
¶1. Embassy Monrovia reaffirms its request for DoD assistance in 
conducting an assessment on the feasibility of removing the primary 
vessels blocking access to the commercial wharf in the Port of 
Monrovia.  Two wrecks, the Torm Alexandra and an adjacent pilot 
tender ship, are presently blocking one and a half berths out of a 
total of four, reducing the capacity of the port by 50 percent.  The 
overuse of the two remaining berths has put additional strain on an 
already fragile part of the wharf, endangering all port activity. 
Previous GOL efforts to find a commercial solution have failed and 
any future commercial endeavor would take several more months and 
there would be no guarantee of success. 
 
¶2. The March Africa Partnership Station (APS) visit to Monrovia 
demonstrated the importance of the port to our interests in West 
Africa.  Anything we can do to reduce the current risk and to 
contribute to the eventual larger solution (which will be through a 
private-public partnership) serves our long term security interests. 
 We will soon begin training and equipping a Liberian Coast Guard to 
protect Liberia's coast from threats of terrorism, narcotics and 
human trafficking, illegal fishing, piracy and environmental 
degradation.  The Liberia Coast Guard will work in cooperation with 
the U.S. Navy as well as with other West and Central African 
countries to counter these threats, and ready access to the port is 
essential 
 
¶3. On the economic front, the wrecks constitute a navigational 
hazard that raises insurance rates and increases the risk of a 
mishap.  Removal of the two wrecks alone would result in the 
immediate increase in port productivity and lower costs without any 
other improvements to the port. 
 
¶4.  The removal of the wrecks is critical to our interests in 
Liberia's security and economic recovery, and to our interests in 
promoting regional stability and containing transnational threats. 
Without a functioning port, prices will rise, unemployment will 
remain high, and people will remain dissatisfied and be more likely 
to take up arms again. 
 
THOMAS-GREENFIELD