By Laudia Sawer
Nungua, May 10, GNA-Maritime stakeholders from Ghana, Togo, Cote d’Ivoire, and Niger have participated in the eighth module of the Support to West Africa Integrated Maritime Security (SWAIMS) Project at the Regional Maritime University.
Module eight of the project sought to address the complexities of safety and security in marine space.
The participants were drawn from the Navy, Maritime Administration, Port Authority, Marine Police, and judges.
The SWAIMS project, funded by the European Union, has nine modules, comprising an introduction to the maritime security environment, the maritime security functional areas, legal and policy frameworks for advancing maritime security, the blue economy and maritime environment, and maritime crisis management.
Mr. Augustus Addy-Lamptey, an engineer and the coordinator of the SWAIMS Project, stated that the modules were to help maritime industry actors understand the consequences of maritime crimes.
He said that because shipping carries about 90 per cent of international trade, there would be a challenge when anything untoward happened in the sector, stating that during the COVID-19 crisis, the world depended on the shipping industry to let the wheels of industry run.
He added that the programme was therefore formulated to ensure that the actors in the maritime industry appreciated the main effect of maritime crime, especially kidnapping for ransom.
He said the module promotes collaboration and cooperation among inter-agency sector players along the value chain.
Mr Jewel Ahiable, an electrical engineer and a former piracy captive sharing his experience with participants, said he was a captive for 1000 days after their vessel was hijacked by Somalian pirates in the Gulf of Guinea.
Mr. Ahiable recalled that “we realised that our captain tried to do defensive manoeuvring, and within about 15 minutes, everything subsided, and our bosun came shouting, colleagues come out, come out, your ship has been hijacked by Somali pirates, and we came out from our hideout.”
He added that they climbed to the officers’ deck, and on their way to the bridge, they saw one of the pirates wielding an AK-47, and he instructed them to put their hands on their heads.
“So, after two years, nine months—that is, 1,000 days—for the first time we stepped foot on land on December 23, 2012,” he narrated.
He stressed that the need to enhance security and safety in maritime space cannot be overemphasized.
The former captive stated that some dangers that were likely to happen in the maritime space were fire, ship grounding, sinking, explosion, collision, armed robbery, and piracy.
“In marine space, there are a lot of happenings: there is an amputation, electrocution, corrosion, and man falling overboard. Some of the major happenings are fire, grounding of the ship, sinking of the ship, and collision,” he said.
He therefore urged vessel crew members to always adhere to security measures while on board.
GNA