Mr. Thomas Alonsi, Director General of the Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA) has indicated that efforts are underway to help solve the various ongoing maritime issues in the country.
Speaking during a presser, he averred that the Authority is undertaking some projects to help in this regard. He indicated that the Authority has embarked on the removal of submerged tree stumps on the various water bodies.
He stated that the main reason for this exercise is to create a safe navigational channels to enhance safety of navigation.
“Apart from the human element that is incompetency, overloading and drunkenness of both operators, the main causes of accidents on the volta lake include the absence of defined, safe navigational channels. “
Thomas Alonsi
Submerged tree stumps on a water body
Mr. Alonsi noted that the Authority has therefore selected some routes along the Volta Lake, while undertaking this exercise to ensure that it removes the tree stumps. In all, he revealed about 21,000 tree stumps from various routes on the Volta Lake have been removed.“
By the Dodokope roads, about 2000 tree stumps were removed. And then the distance is about 2.5 kilometers.”
Thomas Alonsi
Thomas Alonsi
GMA acquires patrol boats
Mr. Alonsi disclosed that the Authority as part of its efforts has acquired patrol boats to enhance surveillance on the water bodies.
He explained that it was important to compliment the electronic surveillance the Authority has undertaken with physical presence personnel using the operation of fast patrol boats in the territorial waters and the oil fields in the exclusive economic zone.
He further stated that piracy has become a topical issue in the industry and as such efforts had to be taken to curb it.
“The Gulf of Guinea has become an enviable hotspot for piracy. You have also heard of piracy activities that bother on our own territorial waters that involve some fishing waters. Because of this menace, the authority in collaboration with the coastal states have come together in trying to find ways and means of curtailing the incidence of piracy within our territorial waters.”
Thomas Alonsi
One of the measures that have been put in place, he indicated ,is the ECOWAS maritime scheme which involves security, architecture, stakeholders meeting to deliberate on the matter and propose solutions.
He revealed that, beside the stakeholder engagement, the Authority has also engaged in some consultative meeting with the Naval command with a view to finding common solutions to the problem of piracy.
“As part of our effort to stop this as well, the Ghana Maritime Authority and the Ghana Navy held a meeting with our Nigerian counterparts about two months ago. This meeting was actually at the behest of the President of the Republic, Nana Akufo-Addo, who had prior to this meeting had similar consultation in Nigeria.”
Thomas Alonsi
Prosecutorial laws not effective
He further lamented that the issue of piracy not being curbed is due to prosecutorial laws not being effective. He noted that there are gaps in them when it comes to its application.
“The last time we apprehended pirates here, it became difficult to prosecute them due to the laws. So, they had to be taken to Nigeria to be apprehended.”
Thomas Alonsi
He further noted that the Authority has also acquired trash skimmer and vessels to aid it remove various forms of dirt from the water bodies.
“The amount of litter in the marine environment is rapidly increasing and negatively affecting green life, biodiversity and human use of coastal and marine resources.”
Thomas Alonsi
