VZCZCXYZ0007
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHFN #0496/01 3511355
ZNY CCCCC ZZH (CCY ADXEEE3AE MSI2944 532A)
P 161820Z DEC 09 ZUI RUEHSD 0064W 3510345 H/W ZDS/ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY FREETOWN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3054
RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
INFO RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE

C O N F I D E N T I A L FREETOWN 000496 
 
C O R R E C T E D  C O P Y (CHANGING CABLE CLASSIFICATION) 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  12/16/2019 
TAGS: EFIS PREL PGOV MARR SL
SUBJECT: SIERRA LEONE AMLEP MISSION RESULTS IN FOUR SEIZURES 
 
REF: FREETOWN 344 
 
Classified by PD Officer Danna Van Brandt for reason 1.4(b) 
 
¶1.  (U) SUMMARY: An Africa Maritime Law Enforcement 
Partnership (AMLEP) operation December 6-14 resulted in four 
fishing vessels seized by Sierra Leonean authorities in 
conjunction with the U.S. Coast Guard and Navy.  The 
operation built on a previous AMLEP conducted in August 
(reftel), and provided lessons for follow-on operations 
planned for 2010.  The seized vessels appear to be from China 
(1), Sierra Leone (1), and Ghana (2), but the registrations 
and ownership were not entirely clear for some vessels, and 
all four masters were ethnic Chinese. Fines could exceed one 
million dollars, and the cooperative effort garnered high 
public praise from the Government of the Sierra Leone for the 
United States during a televised press conference at the 
conclusion of the mission. 
 
The Present 
----------- 
¶2.  (U)  The United States Navy ship Samuel B. Roberts 
conducted an Africa Maritime Law Enforcement Partnership 
(AMLEP) operation through the Africa Partnership Station 
(APS) December 6-14 in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of 
Sierra Leone,s territorial waters.  It was the second such 
operation of its kind here, following up on lessons from the 
seizure of the Yu Feng 102 during the AMLEP in August 2009. 
The Navy and embarked United States Coast Guard personnel 
supported the Sierra Leone Maritime Wing in boarding five 
vessels for inspections; violations found were sufficient to 
seize four.  The embarked Sierra Leone team included 
personnel from the Maritime Wing, Fisheries Ministry, and the 
Sierra Leone Police, as well as a member of the Anti 
Corruption Commission and a Sierra Leonean journalist to 
ensure transparency and accountability.  The vessels seized 
include: 
 
--F/V Min Yu, PRC, appeared to be rigged as a shrimping 
vessel.  IMO number 8843733.  Detained for fishing in waters 
shallower than 15 meters (found casting nets in 11 meter 
waters) and other violations.  Ten Chinese and eight Sierra 
Leonean crew embarked. 
 
--F/V Bokjori, Sierra Leone (verbal claim). Detained for 
using nets with improper mesh size, and other violations. 
Six Chinese and twenty Sierra Leonean crew. 
 
--F/V See God I and F/V See God II, Ghana or China.  Detained 
for pair trawling, nets with improper mesh size, and other 
violations.  F/V See God I had a home port of Takoradi, China 
written on a safety equipment inspection form; eight Chinese, 
four Sierra Leonean (one an observer), and fourteen Ghanaian 
crewman were on board.  Detected at dusk, the boats attempted 
to outrun the U.S. Navy frigate, but were seized the next 
morning.  The boats were originally reported to be Ghanaian, 
but have no clear registration. 
 
¶3.  (U)  The four vessels were escorted to Freetown and put 
under the custody of police officials; they are now at anchor 
off the Maritime Wing headquarters in Murraytown (an area of 
Freetown).  The crews remain on board.  The U.S. Navy team 
estimated the fines for those violations at USD 1.3 million, 
but this could go higher depending on other findings. 
 
¶4. (C) The final aspect of the operation was a "hotwash" or 
after action review (see paragraph 7) for the morning of 
December 14; the Embassy had planned a joint U.S.-Sierra 
Leone press conference to immediately follow.  The Maritime 
Wing had initially agreed to host, and expected approval from 
superiors for this proposal.  Instead, on Sunday night, 
December 13, President Koroma summoned the Minister of 
Presidential Affairs, Joseph Koroma, the Minister of 
Fisheries, Hafsatu Kabbah, and the Minister of Justice and 
Attorney General, Abdul Serry-Kamal, to a meeting and 
canceled the press conference.  According to the British High 
Commissioner, the meeting was called to settle a disagreement 
between Kabbah and Minister of Defense Palo Conteh about who 
should get the public credit for the seizures.  The President 
rescheduled the press conference for Monday afternoon at the 
Ministry of Information and Communication.  COMMENT: The 
President may also have wanted to contain any embarrassment 
at the fact that, according to a UK/IMATT source, the Sierra 
Leonean maritime wing had boarded a total of 30 vessels in 
the previous three months and seized none.  In contrast, 
during this one-week operation, five vessels were boarded and 
four seized.  END COMMENT 
 
¶5. (U) Monday afternoon,s press conference was presided over 
by the Ministers present at Sunday's meeting as well as the 
Minister of Defense and the Minister of Information and 
Communication, Ibrahim Kargbo.  Each of the five ministers 
praised the U.S. Embassy, Coast Guard, Navy, and IMATT (a 
UK-led military advisor group) for their assistance and 
 
Wing,s inability to conduct such operations independently, 
and requested material assistance in that regard.  The 
Minister of Fisheries pleaded for additional operations of 
this type.  The Minister of Justice/AG, who played an 
obstructionist role in August's AMLEP with the USCG LEGARE, 
noted that mistakes made previously would not be repeated in 
this case.  The Minister of Presidential Affairs noted 
President Koroma,s strong support of this mission, and his 
commitment to see that the violators would be prosecuted to 
the fullest extent of the law. 
 
The Past 
-------- 
¶6.  (C)  The remarks from the notoriously corrupt Minister of 
Justice/AG's were a surprise only in that he took some blame 
and responsibility; indeed the seizure of the Yu Feng 102 in 
August, 2009 uncovered numerous weaknesses in Sierra Leonean 
procedures.  The catch, 17 tons of tuna and 2 tons of shark 
fin--valued between USD 300,000 to  500,000--was held on 
board by order of the Minister of Justice/AG, likely in 
collusion with the ship's owners.  It appears a deal was 
struck to pay a paltry USD 140,000 fine for the release of 
the boat and crew.  When the media revealed the agreement the 
next day, and the embassy passed to the President that the 
law required the boat and catch be forfeit, the plea bargain 
was set aside on "technical" grounds.  The catch was never 
offloaded, however, and eventually left to rot.  The crew was 
handled oddly as well: not all were initially arrested, 
creating two court cases, with some forgotten on the boat 
while some were in prison (five, including the commander, are 
now on board).  Final court decisions assessed fines in 
excess of two million dollars and forfeiture of the boat. 
The Yu Feng case may provide some good lessons but it is 
different, as the boat was unlicensed.  Less stringent 
criteria apply to the above seizures, all of whom were 
licensed. 
 
The Future 
---------- 
¶7. (C) The hotwash following the completion of the operation 
compiled the following recommendations: 
 
-- A Chinese linguist would help future missions as all the 
masters on the seized vessels were of Chinese origin, 
 
-- An additional Sierra Leonean boarding team should be 
included so that teams could alternatively board and escort 
seized vessels to shore, 
 
-- Sierra Leone should refine administrative procedures to 
ensure that boarding vessels collect and provide the 
information necessary to ensure successful prosecution, and 
 
-- Sierra Leone should institute a program of dockside 
inspections.  COMMENT: Due to Sierra Leone,s limited ability 
to monitor or enforce maritime law in deep waters, dockside 
inspections would enable them to fine vessels for violations 
like improper nets and fishing licenses prior to the vessels 
commencing fishing operations.  END COMMENT 
 
¶8.  (C)  Additional recommended operational measures for the 
next AMLEP include flying the Sierra Leone boarding team to 
meet the ship in Dakar to start the operation with an element 
of surprise, and allocating aerial surveillance assets. 
 
¶9. (C) COMMENT:  Despite worries that the originally-planned 
press conference may have been canceled out of embarrassment, 
the GoSL came through with a remarkable show of support, 
gratitude, and respect for U.S. assistance.  Rarely do press 
conferences include such a cadre of cabinet-level officials, 
and even more rarely do such events highlight the assistance 
of a particular donor.  The United States was praised for its 
results-oriented approach, and won considerable appreciation 
and respect from the host Government and some popular good 
will.  It remains to be seen if the goodwill and gratitude 
shown at the press conference will translate into legitimate 
follow-through within the Sierra Leone legal system, but it 
is certainly a good start.  Following-on to the December 7-11 
visit of a delegation of Coast Guard lawyers, engagements 
such as these go a long way to deepen not only the 
U.S.-Sierra Leone military relationship, but the bilateral 
political relationship as well.  END COMMENT 
 
FEDZER