PIRACY: Ghana To Provide Electronic Surveillance Of Coastline

Ghana is implementing a vessel traffic management and information system (VTMIS) to provide electronic surveillance and monitoring of the entire coast of the country.
This is to prevent potential risk of piracy and armed robbery on the high seas. The system, according to the Deputy Minister of Transport, Ms Dzifa A. Attivor, was to serve the needs of the maritime industry by becoming a centre for information gathering and sharing to alert industry players to potential hot spots.

Ghana is implementing a vessel traffic management and information system (VTMIS) to provide electronic surveillance and monitoring of the entire coast of the country.
This is to prevent potential risk of piracy and armed robbery on the high seas. The system, according to the Deputy Minister of Transport, Ms Dzifa A. Attivor, was to serve the needs of the maritime industry by becoming a centre for information gathering and sharing to alert industry players to potential hot spots.
The country’s deputy minister made this known at the 10th meeting of the Board of Governors of the Regional Maritime University (RMU) in Accra last weekend.
The meeting was used by the five-member countries of the RMU, currently chaired by The Gambia, to take stock of the performance of the University, discuss critical matters and take decisions that would further enhance its growth and development.
The Ghana Maritime Authority last year signed a contract with EL TEL Corporation Network based in Finland for the supply and installation of the VTMIS.
In addition to helping to check the shipment of narcotics and illicit drugs, truck weapons and ensure the safety of navigation and protection of the marine environment from pollution, the VTMIS is also equipped with sensors which provide information on weather conditions at sea for coastal management purposes and facilitate search-and-rescue operations in case of maritime distress at sea.
The project is being funded by BNP Paribas, a bank in the United Kingdom.
Ms Attivor, therefore, urged authorities in the transport industry to adopt appropriate strategies and intensify measures aimed at combating the increasing spate of piracy and armed robbery in West Africa.