Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) Coast Guard in collaboration with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) have successfully completed the Visit, Board, Search and Seizure (VBSS) basic and instructor courses.
At the closing ceremony held at the MNDF Headquarters, Deputy Minister of Defence Hassan Zameel conferred certificates of appreciation to the instructors. In addition, instructors at UNODC Paul Roberts and Johan Hendrik conferred memorial certificates to the participants and Associate Programme Officer at UNODC Joshua Arteta Gonzalez gave remarks on the course. The ceremony of the VBSS course was also attended by senior officers of the MNDF and senior officials of UNODC.
The course was conducted under the UNODC Global Maritime Crime Programme. A total of 12 servicemen from the MNDF Coast Guard, 12 servicemen from the Bangladesh Coast Guard (BCG) and eight servicemen from the Sri Lankan Coast Guard (SLCG) participated in the course. The two-week course, which began on November 13, taught the participants how to conduct maritime operations, how to board vessels and how to work in maritime operations.
The final exercise of the course was held near Hulhumale'. Minister of Defence Mariya Ahmed Didi, Ambassador from Bangladesh to the Maldives Rear Admiral Abul Kalam Azad and Ambassador from Sri Lanka to the Maldives Adam Maznavee Jaufer Sadiq attended the final exercise of the course.