Ghana Maritime Authority to conduct Port State Inspection on vessels at anchorage

The Ghana Maritime Authority says it will be conducting port state inspection on vessels that call at the anchorage of Ghana’s ports following the oil tanker vessel that split into two at the Tema Port anchorage.

It will be recalled that a Bahamas registered oil tanker vessel, MT Alice which had called at the anchorage of the Tema port caved in and split into two but there were no casualties.

The Deputy Minister of Transport, Daniel Titus Glover called on the Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA) and other stakeholders to ensure that vessels that call at the country's ports are sea worthy to prevent avoidable accidents.

“This falls directly under Ghana Maritime Authority and bring it to the attention of the Director General to look at some of these vessels that call in our ports,” the Deputy said, after the accident at the anchorage.

In line with this, the Director General of GMA, Kwame Owusu said the inspection will also be aimed at preventing spillage and pollution at the anchorage from vessels that are not sea worthy or in terrible state.

“The Authority now is putting in measures to make sure that even though they have not come in to berth, once they are on our anchorage, in terms of pollution and spillages, etc. we are going to go after them.”

Speaking to journalists on the side-lines of the International Day of the Seafarer, the GMA boss said he is committed to fighting illicit activities in Ghanaian waters.

“I think we have pictures to sue a couple of them. We are now chasing or arrested people from Ada and the rest. And we will put in measures that anyone that comes there, we are going to have a Port-State Control Inspection and also to make sure they have a cause for being there”, he averred.