Naval chief launches Joint Maritime Information Coordination Centre

The inauguration ceremony of the new state-of-the-art Joint Maritime Information Coordination Centre (JMICC) was held in Karachi on Friday, and Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi graced the occasion as chief guest and inaugurated the new setup.

The spokesman for the navy said in a statement that the JMICC functioned as a nerve centre to harmonise the efforts of all maritime-related organisations and agencies. It helped generating a coordinated response to maritime security challenges within Pakistan’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), primarily through information-sharing and inter department/ agency coordination, he added.

The centre was established in February 2013 and is manned round the clock by a competent team, which includes representatives of the relevant stakeholders.

The new setup is said to have been equipped with indigenously developed joint maritime information-sharing (JMIS) software, a modern operations room and associated infrastructure. The capacity enhancement will enable the JMICC to effectively knit maritime entities of Pakistan and international information fusion centres (IFCs) to augment safety and security in the maritime domain.

During the ceremony, the naval chief termed the event an important milestone, which would further support the PN’s effort to promote maritime security in the region. He appreciated the indigenous efforts to develop the state-of-the-art system.

The inauguration ceremony was attended by the chief of staff (operations), the commander Pakistan Fleet, the commander coast, the commander Karachi and other senior naval officers.