By Jeorge Wilson KINGSON
The government has entered into a credit agreement with the United Kingdom branch of BNP Paribas for an amount of €17,687,058.51 for the purchasing of equipment for the effective monitoring of Ghana’s territorial waters.
The purpose of the agreement is to obtain funds for the acquisition, installation and operation of a Vessel Traffic Management Information System (VTMIS) for both electronic and physical coastal surveillance and monitoring in Ghana, in the wake of the expected oil boom.
The agreement is currently before parliament for consideration and approval.
The credit facility is free of any interest charge. It however has a two and a half year grace period, 14 years maturity period, 0.25% commitment fee, 0.50% arrangement fee, 36.29% grant element and repayable in 12 years.
The project consist of the installation of eight remote sensor sites along the coastline and three manned monitoring and control centers known as Area Control Centers (ACCs) to be located in Accra, Tema and Takoradi. These centers will be equipped with various sensors for detecting ships and small boats.
The implementation of the VTMIS is expected to complement the efforts of the Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA) and the Ghana Navy in ensuring effective surveillance and monitoring of the maritime domain of the country.
Sources at the GMA told BusinessWeek, the VTMIS will help in curbing piracy, pair trawling, narcotics transportation and other vices that take place in the sea.
The remote sites will also carry communication equipments such as Very High Frequency (VHF)marine radio for voice communications on internationally agreed frequencies, VHF and MF radio for compliance with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) mandated Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) and Long Range
Identification and Tracking (LRIT) requirements for receiving regular ship reports.
Under the project, display screens showing vessel traffic would be provided to all approved stakeholders including the Security, the Ghana Navy, Narcotics Control Board (NCB) and the Fisheries Commission to enable them monitor vessel traffic.
Again, all ships with Automatic Identification System (AIS) Transponders as required by the IMO for international shipping will automatically and continually be transmitted by their AIS unit to the ACCs.
This will enable quick identification of a vessel and facilitate communication from shore to the vessel when necessary.
The system will also help in directing and coordinating Search and Rescue (SAR) missions at sea and help Ghana to fulfill her commitment under the IMO Search and Rescue Convention.
In view of the fact that Ghana’s oil operations will be mainly offshore, there is the need therefore for a system that will provide real time navigational and meteorological information.
BusinessWeek gathered that with the installation of the system, the navy will not need to conduct costly round-the-clock patrols on the sea but can be placed at vantage points so that they will receive real time information from the system and take action accordingly.
The project which will be carried out by Zeni Maritime Technology Oy of Finland is expected to be completed within two years.
Ghana has a coastline of about 537 kilometer long. This coastline lies along the Gulf of Guinea which has vast oil deposits.
Exploitation of Ghana’s oil deposits of Cape Three Points is scheduled to begin soon and it is imperative that measures are put in place to protect the oil platforms and other offshore installations.
While oil exploration is currently underway within the 200 nautical miles Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), the EEZ is currently not under any form of surveillance.
Ghana has a vibrant fishing and tourism industries which need to be protected from unlawful maritime activities and environmental degradation.
The country also has navigational channels traversing its coastal waters which form part of the Gulf of Guinea shipping corridor with vessels visiting its seaports and offshore terminals.
Against this backdrop, it has become necessary for the GMA through the Ministry of Transport to initiate a project to procure, install and operate a VTMIS to ensure electronic and physical surveillance and monitoring of Ghanaian coastal waters.
The government has entered into a credit agreement with the United Kingdom branch of BNP Paribas for an amount of €17,687,058.51 for the purchasing of equipment for the effective monitoring of Ghana’s territorial waters.
The purpose of the agreement is to obtain funds for the acquisition, installation and operation of a Vessel Traffic Management Information System (VTMIS) for both electronic and physical coastal surveillance and monitoring in Ghana, in the wake of the expected oil boom.
The agreement is currently before parliament for consideration and approval.
The credit facility is free of any interest charge. It however has a two and a half year grace period, 14 years maturity period, 0.25% commitment fee, 0.50% arrangement fee, 36.29% grant element and repayable in 12 years.
The project consist of the installation of eight remote sensor sites along the coastline and three manned monitoring and control centers known as Area Control Centers (ACCs) to be located in Accra, Tema and Takoradi. These centers will be equipped with various sensors for detecting ships and small boats.
The implementation of the VTMIS is expected to complement the efforts of the Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA) and the Ghana Navy in ensuring effective surveillance and monitoring of the maritime domain of the country.
Sources at the GMA told BusinessWeek, the VTMIS will help in curbing piracy, pair trawling, narcotics transportation and other vices that take place in the sea.
The remote sites will also carry communication equipments such as Very High Frequency (VHF)marine radio for voice communications on internationally agreed frequencies, VHF and MF radio for compliance with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) mandated Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) and Long Range
Identification and Tracking (LRIT) requirements for receiving regular ship reports.
Under the project, display screens showing vessel traffic would be provided to all approved stakeholders including the Security, the Ghana Navy, Narcotics Control Board (NCB) and the Fisheries Commission to enable them monitor vessel traffic.
Again, all ships with Automatic Identification System (AIS) Transponders as required by the IMO for international shipping will automatically and continually be transmitted by their AIS unit to the ACCs.
This will enable quick identification of a vessel and facilitate communication from shore to the vessel when necessary.
The system will also help in directing and coordinating Search and Rescue (SAR) missions at sea and help Ghana to fulfill her commitment under the IMO Search and Rescue Convention.
In view of the fact that Ghana’s oil operations will be mainly offshore, there is the need therefore for a system that will provide real time navigational and meteorological information.
BusinessWeek gathered that with the installation of the system, the navy will not need to conduct costly round-the-clock patrols on the sea but can be placed at vantage points so that they will receive real time information from the system and take action accordingly.
The project which will be carried out by Zeni Maritime Technology Oy of Finland is expected to be completed within two years.
Ghana has a coastline of about 537 kilometer long. This coastline lies along the Gulf of Guinea which has vast oil deposits.
Exploitation of Ghana’s oil deposits of Cape Three Points is scheduled to begin soon and it is imperative that measures are put in place to protect the oil platforms and other offshore installations.
While oil exploration is currently underway within the 200 nautical miles Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), the EEZ is currently not under any form of surveillance.
Ghana has a vibrant fishing and tourism industries which need to be protected from unlawful maritime activities and environmental degradation.
The country also has navigational channels traversing its coastal waters which form part of the Gulf of Guinea shipping corridor with vessels visiting its seaports and offshore terminals.
Against this backdrop, it has become necessary for the GMA through the Ministry of Transport to initiate a project to procure, install and operate a VTMIS to ensure electronic and physical surveillance and monitoring of Ghanaian coastal waters.
Comments