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Ghana Navy ready to protect power barge

The Chief of the Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Geoffrey Mawuli Biekro, who disclosed this in Tema said the Ghana Navy has been tasked to ensure the safety and security of the Karpowership and its personnel.

Rear Admiral Biekro, addressing this year’s Administrative Inspection parade by the Eastern Naval Command in Tema on Friday.

The Ghana Navy has affirmed commitment to ensure that it provides the necessary secure working environment for the smooth operation of the soon to berth power barge in Tema.

The Chief of the Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Geoffrey Mawuli Biekro, who disclosed this in Tema said the Ghana Navy has been tasked to ensure the safety and security of the Karpowership and its personnel and they are ready to ensure that that this strategic national asset is safe to operate smoothly.

He therefore entreated the personnel not to rest on their oars but rather strive for higher successes in the coming years, by working hard to provide quality surveillance on the country’s maritime domain.

The long awaited power barge from Turkey, which is expected to augment the country’s power generating capacity by 225 megawatts to the national grid, is expected to berth at the Tema Fishing Harbour area by Saturday.

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Rear Admiral Biekro was addressing this year’s Administrative Inspection parade by the Eastern Naval Command in Tema on Friday.

AppraisalThe event was aimed at assessing the operational readiness and performance of the Command, as well as to take stock of its challenges and plan the way forward.

Rear Admiral Biekro reviewed the parade under the command of Lt Commander Cecelia Amoo-Welson, who displayed matching skills and drills with dexterity, to the admiration of the civilian population that thronged the Tema Naval Base to witness the ceremony.

The Chief of the Naval Staff noted that the responsibilities of the Ghana Navy are continuously increasing and this therefore calls for improvement in its equipment status.

“This is especially so because the maritime threats we face today are far different from those in the past. Today, with the aid of technology, criminals at sea employ all manner of tactics and sometimes sophisticated weapons to succeed in their criminal activities,” he said emphasising that in order to overcome these threats such as piracy, armed robbery at sea, drug trafficking and elicit trade in small arms and light weapons, the Ghana Navy needs to adopt new strategies.

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He disclosed that the Navy is in the process of acquiring offshore patrol vessels, (OPVS), will help the navy enforce its maritime laws by maintaining a constant presence at sea and help reduce reaction time to emergencies as the threats to maritime resources and assets evolve while ensuring that the current fleet is well-maintained.

INFRASTRUCTURE

The Chief of the Naval Staff indicated that the Eastern Naval Command has seen a lot of improvement notably among them are the fully completed 16 unit officers’ accommodation, the transit quarters, the Naval Wives Association modern crèche under construction and the construction of 368 housing units at Tema New Town out of which 16 out of the 23 blocks are currently at roofing stage which when completed would improve acute accommodation situation faced by the military.

He assured that the Tema New-Town Housing Project would be replicated at the Western Naval Command to address the accommodation challenges facing the navy.

NAVTRAC

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Rear Admiral Biekro said apart from the apart from the Naval Headquarters complex and the Navy at 50 Building which will soon be commissioned at Burma Camp, the Navy Training Command (NAVTRAC) at Agorta near Sogakope would soon become fully operational to train the current and future manpower requirement for the navy to effectively and efficiently discharge its responsibilities.

In attendance was the Flag Officer Commanding the Eastern Naval Command, Commodore Godson Mark Ransford Yawson, Directors from Naval Headquarters, Commanding Officers and civilian employees of the service.

Source: Graphic.com.gh

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