President Akuffo Addo has called for the solutions to some security challenges faced by members of the maritime industry on the Gulf of Guinea.

He listed armed robbery, oil burglary, among other transnational crimes which according to him, not only threatens peace of the nation but also comes with a great cost to the economy and that of other nations

Mr Akufo-Addo noted that to combat the crimes on the territorial waters, every naval officer needs to be equipped with creative solutions to deal with the present and future maritime challenges to stay ahead of the criminal on the seas.

The President made this comment when he commissioned the Naval Training Command at Agorta Nutekpor in the South Tongu District of the Volta Region

This, he said the establishment of the training command is the basics of the government’s support through the Ministry of Defence.

He added that the institute will serve as the nerve centre of the Navy training doctrine.

“The school will be equipped to the leverage technology and use new training methodologies to enhance learning and achieve greater efficiency in line with government’s agenda of technology and digitization.”

“Other incidents such as illegal fishing, oil burglary, kidnaping in the sea for ransom, terrorism and drug trafficking are common threats occurring across the territorial waters,” President Akufo-Addo said.

He announced that the Defence Ministry is in the process of acquiring 250 acres of land for the construction of the outdoor shooting centre.

In the President’s view, the retooling of the Armed Forces and the Navy is the surest way to support the principles of the code of conduct.

This is said to enhance the collaboration in the joint operation and information sharing between the security forces on the Gulf of Guinea.

The Defence Minster, Dominic Ntiwul at the same event said the facility would be used to train other security agencies.

The Flag Officer, Commandore Maxwell who gave a background to the training command said it is necessary to bring all training institutions in the Ghana Navy under a unified command.

The mission statement of the national navy is to develop and deploy maritime forces with the capability to ensure a safe, secure and clean maritime domain of Ghana in a collaboration with other stakeholders in order to ensure the sustainable use of the maritime domain.