Sekondi Oct. 5, GNA - Sixty directing staff and students of the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College at Teshie in Accra, on Friday visited the Western Naval Command, as part of the activities marking this year's Maritime Combat Power Week.
The "Maritime Combat Power Week" is intended to familiarize students with a clear understanding of operational procedures and service ethos that support maritime warfare. Major- General Richardson Baiden, Commandant of the College, led the team.
At a meeting with the team, Commander Emmanuel Kwafo, Commanding Officer of Ghana Navy Ship (GNS) Yogaga, spoke of the responsibilities and the history of the Ghana Navy. He said the area of responsibility of the Western Naval Command extended from Winneba in the Central Region to Ghana's western border with Cote d'Ivoire. Commander Kwafo said it also included all ports and their immediate environs and all vital national and economic installations along the coast.
This includes the Aboadze Thermal Plant, the Osagyefo Power Barge at Effasu and the newly found oil at Cape Three Points, he said. Commander Kwafo said the functions performed by the Ghana Navy in peace times included maintenance of territorial integrity, anti-smuggling patrols, fisheries and offshore resource protection. He said Naval ships carry out patrols to prevent smuggling activities and arrested culprits within the Command's area of responsibility.
Commander Kwafo said an operation codenamed "Operation Hunter" is conducted in canoes from Half Assini, Jewi-Wharf and New Town by a naval detachment stationed in those areas to combat smugglers who use inland waterways to smuggle items across the country's western border with Cote d'Ivoire.
He said the Command with support from the Fisheries Department also checked poaching of the country's fish resources by foreign fishing vessels and unauthorised local fishermen as well as prevented unauthorized fishing practices that could be injurious to the nation's fisheries resources. Commander Kwafo said the Command protected off-shore resources such as oil and gas facilities in its areas of responsibility. He said this task had become more urgent and critical in view of the West African Gas Pipeline Project and the vigorous oil exploration and prospecting activities. 05 Oct. 07
