US Coast Guard training PNG group for Apec security

THREE Papua New Guineans in the maritime working group participated in a United States Coast Guard programme hosted in Guam last week.
The United States said the event from April 3 to 6 was part of security preparations for Apec and hosted by the US Coast Guard which provided information about how to develop plans and exercise scenarios for the Apec meeting.
The visit to Guam was a result of the US-PNG preparations for the Apec Summit in November.
The delegation included Sylvester Adema, from the Department of Transport, Sebastian Marru, from PNG Defence Force (Navy), and Ben Kerri from the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre.
According to the embassy, it was the first time that PNG had participated in an actual exercise held by the US Coast Guard with partnering agencies.
It said that the delegation also met the Coast Guard leadership and toured the US Coast Guard base in Guam.
The embassy said the Papua New Guinea team members used the opportunity to ask questions about security for events such as Apec.
They also attended presentations on the US implementation of the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code through the domestic Maritime Transportation Security Act, and toured the Guam container facility.
They then met with representatives of the US Coast Guard contingency planning branch to plan development for security and safety, the embassy said.
A Coast Guard team will be in Port Moresby in July to provide further training to port officials from PNG, the Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu.