On Tuesday afternoon (30), the government approved the regulation that establishes the functions of the Marine Inspection Operations Coordination Center (CEFMAR), a body that aims to strengthen maritime inspection.
According to information published by Lusa, citing a note distributed by the body’s secretariat, the decree approved during the weekly meeting of the Council of Ministers establishes CEFMAR’s functions, organization and operating regime.
“The regulation aims to enable efficient and effective monitoring of maritime space, including navigable, lake and river waters, and the exercise of state authority at sea and in inland waters,” the note reads.
The document was approved at a time when maritime surveillance in Mozambique has been the subject of public debate since the accident on April 7 in Nampula, when a fishing boat sank while leaving the administrative post of Lunga, in the district of Mossuril, bound for Ilha de Moçambique, killing 98 people.
Following the accident, Mozambique’s Council of Ministers decreed national mourning for three days.
