A joint inspection by the Ghana Boundary Commission and the Ghana Navy has revealed there is no violation of Ghana’s Western maritime boundary as delimited by the ruling of the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in 2017.

The team used surveillance drones and a naval ship for the inspection around Ghana’s Western maritime boundary line to ensure there are no illegal activities going on there.

Addressing the press after the inspection, National Coordinator of the Ghana Boundary Commission, Major General Emmanuel Kotia said it’s the first time the inspection has been done since the ruling.

He said the second phase of the exercise was linking the land boundary terminus in line with the maritime boundary based on the 2017 ruling.

“The Ghana Boundary Commission has a mandate to safeguard both land and maritime boundaries as a result we have decided for the first time since the 2017 ITLOS ruling to do this inspection. The first phase involved the inspection of the maritime boundary at sea.”

He added “ We have been in touch with our counterparts, the National Boundary Commission of Cote D’ Ivoire and we have collaborated with them. The Ghana Navy has also been in touch with the Ivorian Navy so far as this exercise is concerned. I want to say that the exercise has been successful. We have not had any issues.”

Director of Survey and Delimitation at the Ghana Boundary Commission, Henry Djaba said “we extended the drone into the sea for about 5KMs to observe what is happening in the area. Generally, there is no vessel crossing or any illegal activities that we observed. The whole place is calm.”

A core part of the work of the Ghana Boundary Commission is sensitizing residents who live around border communities on their role in safeguarding Ghana’s boundaries. The commission engaged residents of Newtown in the Western Region.

Speaking at the open forum, Major General Emmanuel Kotia told the residents discussions are underway with authorities of Cote D’ Ivoire to reaffirm Ghana’s land boundary.

“We have had a lot of information about the good neighbourliness between the people of Ghana and Cote D’ Ivoire. We have also heard about the good relationship that exists between the two countries. Our responsibility is to make sure that all boundary markers are visible for security agencies.”

MCE for Jomoro, Louisa Iris Arde said the extensive work by the Ghana Boundary Commission will help preserve the good relationship between Ghana and Cote D’Ivoire.

The Ghana National Petroleum Corporation acquired the drone for the inspection. It’s project manager says the commission’s work is important in protecting Ghana’s natural resources.

The International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in Hamburg, Germany in 2017 ruled in favour of Ghana in the maritime dispute with Côte d’Ivoire.

The Chamber in a unanimous decision in September, 2017, ruled that there has not been any violation on the part of Ghana on Côte d’Ivoire’s maritime boundary. It also noted that Ghana has not violated Côte d’Ivoire’s sovereign rights with its oil exploration in the disputed basin.

Ghana’s argument of adoption of the equidistance method of delineation of the maritime boundary was accepted.