Ghana plans to fully map out its maritime space in about three years, to ensure safe corridor navigation and disaster management, enhance maritime trade, and support national economic development.
Dr Kamal-Deen Ali, Naval Captain (Rtd) and Director General of the Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA), made the disclosure at a stakeholder dialogue on building hydrographic capacity for national development, in Accra on Tuesday.
While earlier studies have indicated that fully charting the country’s maritime space could cost up to €80 billion, Ghana is looking at delivering a cost-effective space using an incremental solution to protect oil platforms, data cables and vital shipping lanes.
A hydrographic survey often involves collecting data on water depth, seabed features, identifying hazards like shipwrecks or rocks and other characteristics to map and understand a body of water.
Dr Ali noted the vulnerability of sensitive offshore infrastructure, including oil and gas platforms, subsea pipelines, and international data cables, indicating that hydrography was the foundational tool for the country to protect those assets.
The meeting, convened by the Ghana Maritime Authority, brought together regulators, policymakers, the business community, and guests from Nigeria to lay the groundwork for Ghana’s national hydrographic strategy.
“We are going to look at how we can do this far better at a lesser cost to ourselves, how we can start incrementally and be able to save this country a lot of resources,” he said.
“Yet we are also able to deliver in the next one, two or at most three years where we can say that we have reached that mark of a country with good hydrography.”
Dr Ali said the country was in the early stages of putting together a coherent hydrographic effort with preparatory work by the Ghana Maritime Authority in 2024, noting the deliberate effort to accelerate the process by learning from Nigeria and other countries.
Mr Joseph Bukari Nikpe, the Minister of Transport, in a speech read on his behalf, described hydrography as the foundation of all activities but lamented that it remained one of the most unrecognised sciences in national development planning.
He said the Government had put strategic importance on accurate hydrographic data for ports development, maritime spatial planning, and the sustainable use of ocean resources, affirming its commitment to building Ghana’s hydrographic capacity.
Mr Nikpe explained that in an era of escalating climate threats and growing maritime insecurity, data generated by hydrographers had become the country’s first line of defence, and knowledge of the seabed for effective marine domain awareness.
He outlined institutional steps taken to lay the groundwork for a functioning hydrographic sector, including the establishment of a National Hydrographic and Oceanographic Committee and a National Hydrographic Office.
The Committee, he said, had formulated standards to guide the work of member organisations, facilitated data exchange for updates to Ghana’s nautical charts, and supported the country’s membership of the International Hydrographic Organisation (IHO).
“It is our hope that this engagement will serve as a catalyst transformation, especially the area of hydrography, as well as our overarching effort to unlock the full potentials of Ghana’s maritime resources,” he stated.
Rear Admiral Olumide Olajide Fadahunsi, Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Hydrographic Agency, delivering the keynote address, commended Ghana’s willingness to make hydrography a deliberate national priority.
“In a region where hydrographic data gaps remain a persistent challenge, the willingness of a country like Ghana to make hydrography a deliberate national priority is both timely and commendable,” he said.
The collaboration between Ghana and Nigeria reflected bilateral goodwill and shared understanding that would generate benefits for Nigeria and the wider West African region due to the connection of waters and interlinked maritime interests, he noted.
Rear Admiral Fadahunsi encouraged the country to build a strong hydrographic framework as it contributed to the safety, marine trade development and prosperity of the entire sub-region.
“The charts we draw today will shape the waters we navigate tomorrow,” he said, expressing confidence that through partnership, cooperation, and sustained commitment, great progress would be made for the benefit of both countries and the region.
Source: GNA
