First Ever At-sea Customs and Fisheries Boardings Conducted
USNS Spearhead (T-EPF 1) and an embarked multinational law enforcement team, working with Cameroon Navy Ships Ntem (108) and Sanaga (109), conducted the first ever at-sea customs and fisheries boardings supported by Cameroon Navy. The Cameroon Navy vessels patrolled the entirety of the Cameroon Exclusive Economic Zone for 12 days while conducting at-sea law enforcement operations.
In the first AMLEP with Cameroon, U.S. maritime forces worked and trained with 17 Cameroon Navy personnel, two Gabonese Navy officers, six Cameroon customs officers, and seven Cameroon fisheries officers.
Utilizing Spearhead’s onboard sensors, Sea Vision and the Multi-national Coordination Center for maritime domain awareness, the Cameroon Navy with support of USNS Spearhead and embarked United States Coast Guard law enforcement detachment , intercepted and boarded three commercial fishing vessels and one cargo ship. The joint boarding teams identified five fisheries and one immigration violation during the at-sea law enforcement operation.
Captain Fru Fun, Chief of Logistics, Cameroon Navy Headquarters stated, “This is the first time for AMLEP in Cameroon, and from all the speakers and operations I can conclude it was a big success. Thank you very much, long live the cooperation between the Americans and Cameroon”
Cmdr. Tim Ferracci, mission commander, Africa Partnership Station 201 added, "Working in support of our Cameroonian partners throughout this AMLEP operation has been phenomenal. The operational successes speak to their professionalism, capability , and ability to enforce maritime security through interagency and intergovernmental coordination. It was an honor and privilege to work alongside these professionals.”