The Danish Government and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) have commissioned a state-of-the-art "Ship-in-a-Box" project for the Ghana Navy’s Special Boat Squadron (SBS). The facility will be used for Visit, Board, Search and Seizure (VBSS) training to enhance maritime security.
The commissioning ceremony, held at the Naval Training Command (NAVTRAC), Nutekpor in the Volta Region, marked the successful implementation of the innovative project, funded by the Danish government. The project, implemented by UNODC, aims to strengthen Ghana's maritime law enforcement capabilities, particularly in combating piracy, drug trafficking, and other transnational organized crimes. The "Ship-in-a-Box" system will enable the Ghana Navy and other law enforcement agencies in the West African sub-region to train and respond swiftly to emerging threats.
Speaking at the ceremony, the Minister for Defense, Honourable Dominic Nitiwul expressed the Government of Ghana’s appreciation to the Danish Government for their support to the Ghana Navy saying, “The Ghana Navy has benefitted immensely from the Danish Government Maritime Security Programme in the Gulf of Guinea, more especially the development of the Special Boat Squadron and the acquisition of the Full Mission Bridge Simulator to build capacity for our sea going officers and ratings.”
He added that the commissioning of the facility underscores the collective effort to stay ahead of traditional and emerging maritime security threats, and to ensure that the Ghana Navy is always a step ahead and ready to act with professionalism at sea. He appealed to personnel to jealously protect the facility since it comes with its own security challenges and implications.The Danish Foreign Minister, Mr Lars Lokke Rasmussen in his remarks said, Denmark’s partnership with Ghana plays a vital role in securing the maritime domain and that Denmark strongly supports the principle of freedom of navigation at sea. He indicated that the principle was key to both regional and international trade and called for more cooperation in building capacity for maritime law enforcement agencies.
According to the Danish Foreign Minister, Denmark have focused on regional cooperation through the formulation of national maritime strategies, harmonized standard operating procedures and joint trainings and sea patrols. “Recently, Denmark supported ECOWAS to reassess the mandate, structure and operations of the maritime coordination centres to enhance their efficiency.” He said.
The Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), Rear Admiral Issah Adam Yakubu in his welcome address said that, the commissioning of the "Ship-in-a-Box" edifice was a bold step in realizing the vision of NAVTRAC, which is to become a World Class Centre of Excellence for professional maritime training. He expressed the Ghana Navy’s profound appreciation to the Government of Ghana through the Minister for Defence, Danish Government and the UNODC for the support.
“The "Ship-in-a-Box" project will undoubtedly add to the list of training facilities purposed to undergird the operational capacity of the Ghana Navy, other regional navies and maritime security agencies in our ability to conduct the needed full spectrum of training required to enhance our ability to project force in our maritime domain.” He said.
The Regional Representative of UNODC, Mr Amado Philip De Andres in his remarks stated that the commissioning of the "Ship-in-a-Box" marks another important milestone in UNODC’s continuing engagement in providing support to the criminal justice sector of Ghana and other regional member states particularly within the ECOWAS Zone F region under the Yaoundé Architecture, to further enhance maritime law enforcement capacity and inter agency collaboration with the overall aim of responding to the threat of maritime crimes at sea.
