The Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA) should by the end of June 2018, start implementing the e-navigation systems to track the security of vessels on Ghana’s waters.
It will also follow the completion of the necessary tests and the webpage for operating the platform.
When successful, Ghana will become the fourth maritime country to introduce these advanced capabilities (after Denmark, France and Canada).
This should also leapfrog the country into the forefront in the use of technology in the maritime domain.
A statement on the latest development from the Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA) and copied to Citi Business News said, “Ghana’s initiative towards the E-navigation solution was developed by Denmark as part of the strategic maritime sector cooperation between the two countries.”
According to the statement, “a demonstration of the initiative took place at the Authority’s Vessel Traffic Monitoring Information System (VTMIS) Control Centre in Accra recently which involved the simulation of the receipt of an intelligence alleging acts of piracy in a given area.
“Within 60 seconds, this information was entered into the system and communicated by twitter and shown on the map on a website, warning all mariners to stay well clear of the incident area.”
Project leader from the Danish Maritime Authority, Dr. Christopher Saarnak, who was in Ghana to train the GMA staff was impressed with the skill of his Ghanaian partners and “is excited about the prospects of this new technology, saying “this e-navigation system will benefit the safety and security of all users in the maritime domain in Ghana, from large commercial vessels to the small fishing vessels.”
He added that “the large vessels will now get a graphical overview of navigational warnings instantly, rather than decoding endless lines of positions and plotting them on charts.For the small vessels, all it will take is one person in the community owning a smart phone to get updates of hazards to their navigation in real time”.
Mr. Kwame Owusu, Director General of the GMA and Ambassador of Denmark, Ms. Tove Degnbol witnessed the demonstration.
CBN
