DCOC States Agree on Combined Anti-Piracy Task Force
Signatory States of the Djibouti Code of Conduct/Jeddah Amendment have agreed to set up a Combined DCoC Task Force to protect shipping from the resurgence of piracy in the Western Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden.
The task force will provide a practical regional mechanism through which willing Signatory States can conduct coordinated maritime operations in support of existing international maritime security efforts. This includes the possible embarkation of officers (sea-riders) from relevant coastal States aboard participating naval vessels.
The recommendation to establish the task force was agreed on at the 29 July 2026 DCOC Steering Committee Extraordinary Meeting. The recommendations were subsequently considered by the National Focal Points of the Djibouti Code of Conduct meeting of 5 August, which endorsed the Steering Committee's recommendations.
The precise composition of the Task Force - including the types and number of maritime assets that could be contributed by participating States - has not yet been determined.
Regional States have emphasized that an effective regional response should extend beyond the deployment of assets at sea to include cooperation and legal processes, including arrangements for the timely transfer of suspected offenders to jurisdictions able to prosecute them.
The continued captivity of innocent seafarers aboard MT Honour 25, Sward, MV Eureka, MT Asana, and other vessels remains a matter of profound humanitarian concern, says the Chair of the Djibouti Code of Conduct/Jeddah Amendment (DCoC/JA), Metse Ralephenya - Republic of South Africa.
The Code of Conduct concerning the Repression of Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in the Western Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden, commonly referred to as the Djibouti Code of Conduct (DCoC), was adopted on 29 January 2009 by the representatives of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Maldives, Seychelles, Somalia, the United Republic of Tanzania and Yemen.
Comoros, Egypt, Eritrea, Jordan, Mauritius, Mozambique, Oman, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates subsequently joined.
