British Navy Ships Storm Sekondi

The British ships. INSET: The Naval officers
Two British Naval Ships, HMS Iron Duke and RFA Black Rover, have arrived at the Sekondi Naval Base on a four-day visit to the Western Naval Command.

There are about 190 members on board the ships with the majority of the personnel being males.

The crew and the Ghana Navy would discuss among other things some tactics to deal with illegal activities at sea such as piracy, drug trafficking and illegal fishing.

The Ghana Navy and Royal Navy from United Kingdom would also conduct joint operational training, sporting and community relations activities.

At a press briefing in Sekondi, Commander Tom Tredray, Commanding Officer of the ships, noted that the vessels were on six months operational deployment to a number of partner nations in Africa.

He indicated that the crew of the ships would share their knowledge and experience to promote security and stability in the waters off West Africa.

‘The ship will work with various navies, coastguards and other national forces to build capacity and sustainability in their operations,’ he added.

He said the ships were collaborating with the Ghana Navy to ensure maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea in order to promote trade.

Commander Tredray noted that illegal activities like drug trafficking, piracy and armed robbery affected international trade as goods were mostly transported by sea from one country to another.

Commander Tredray pointed out that the ships would patrol the Gulf of Guinea and expressed the hope that their presence would deter criminals.

From Emmanuel Opoku, Sekondi
 
He mentioned that the Royal Navy was happy with its collaboration with Ghana and the Royal Ships would continue to visit the country to help strengthen the Ghana Navy.