Underwater security focus of OSCE training for border service divers in Aktau

A three-week training course on underwater security for divers of the Committee for National Security’s Border Service concluded on 23 July 2021 in Aktau, Kazakhstan.

The three-week training course aimed to enhance the professional capacity of the Border Service’s Coast Guard in countering transnational threats in an underwater environment. A certified national diver-instructor familiarized the group of twenty two Coast Guard divers with general regulations and international and national standards of diving, specifics of underwater activities in different water environments, and personal safety features during diving operations at different depths.

Participants performed a variety of practical exercises in closed (pool) and open water (sea). Participants were also instructed on the proper use of different types of diving gear and equipment: autonomous diving gear with an open breathing system (aqualung) and an air control system with a special diving helmet.  

“The result of the training was the acquisition of new professional skills of divers of the Border Service of the National Security Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan, which will undoubtedly strengthen border security in the underwater environment and increase the general level of countering transnational threats in the sea,” said the diver-instructor, Anton Cherepanov.

Mukhtar Yeleuov, Head of Division for Support of Ships and other vessels of the Department of the Border Guard Service in Mangistau Region said: “Diving is a new and promising area in the activities of the Border Guard Service of the Committee for National Security of the Republic of Kazakhstan, which solves a wide range of tasks, such as the protection of the state border in the underwater environment.”

The event is part of the Programme Office’s multi-year efforts to enhance the capacity of Kazakhstan’s Border Service to increase border security and management, and to counter transnational threats.