Conference on Maritime Security opens

Transport Minister, Collins Dauda

THE Second annual West Africa Maritime Security conference aimed at identifying innovative methods to deal with piracy and armed robbery in the Gulf  of Guinea opened in Accra yesterday.

The program, jointly organised  by the Hanson Wade, a United Kingdom (UK) based oranisation working to overcome life threatening dangers of maritime piracy and the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), follows the serious  threat maritime piracy continue to pose to international shipping and trade, in hot spots, including West Africa.

With economic situations in the sub-region dwindling and joblessness among the teeming youth on the ascendency, piracy and armmed robery have increased.

Lack of good governance, peace and political stability, as well as the lack of comprehensive strategy at national and regional levels were said to be derailing efforts to address maritime piracy incident.

Maritime and security experts attending the two day workshop would among other things formulate new cooperations needed to prevent the region from being affected in the coming months and years.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Minister of Transport, Alhaji Collins Dauda said that following the adoptation of new strategies by pirates , there was an urgent need for joint efforts by states for enhanced maritime security globally.

According to him, the global piracy scourge of about 544 cases in 2011 of which 47 of such cases were recorded at the anchorages  of the West African sub-region, were clear indication for a more concerted approach to mitigate effects.

Following the United Nation (UN) Security Council’s unanimous decision in 2011 to adopt a resolution condemning criminal acts of maritime piracy across the West African sub-region, the Government of Ghana (GoG), amended the Ghana Maritime Security act of 2004, to ensure the effective enforcement of maritime security measures.

“The Ghana Maritime protection of offshore operations and assets regulation, legislative instrument (LI)2009 of 2012 have also been put in place intended to adequately ensure stringent protection regime”, Alhaji Dauda said.

He said the Ghana Maritime Authourity (GMA) was also in the advance stage of implementing the vessel traffic management information system, an intergrated electronic surveillance system intended to enhance  the country’s maritime domain awareness for purposes of combating piracy and armed robbery within Ghana’s maritime jurisdiction.

He assured that government would continue to develope appropriate instruments and guidelines to address incidents of piracy across board.

The Director General of the GMA, Mr Peter Issaka Azumah, said that owing to maritime piracy, becoming a profitable venture to perpetrators, pirates have today devised sophisticated technology and were able to adapt operational tactical patterns to outwit coast guards.

“The troubling aspect of pirates’ criminal business is the related increasing violence of hostages and murder”, Mr Azumah lamented.

He said about 2000 seafarers were taken hostage in 2006 alone, costing the global economy some $12 billion.

SOURCE: Della Russel Ocloo, Daily Graphic, Wed July 11, 2012