Adhere to security code to stop pirate attacks – Marine Professional
Harbour Master of the Tema Port, Captain Francis Kwesi Botse Micah, has said adherence to the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code by ports and vessels will help check the growing menace of piracy on Ghanaian vessels on the Gulf of Guinea.
The ISPS Code is an amendment to the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Convention (1974/1988) on Maritime security, including minimum security arrangements for ships, ports and government agencies.
Having come into force in 2004, it prescribes responsibilities to governments, shipping companies, shipboard personnel, and port/facility personnel.
This is to “detect security threats and take preventive measures against security incidents affecting ships or port facilities used in international trade.”
Making the assertion on the Eye on Port programme monitored, Captain Micah noted that the ISPS code stands tall as a way of nipping piracy in the bud.
“The ISPS code keeps ports and vessels save provided they are adhered to, so the ISPS code stands tall as a way of nipping these situations in the bud,” he stated.
Captain Micah was, however, quick to add that the ISPS code in themselves are not the entire solution to the issue of piracy.
He said, intelligence gathering, logistics such as choppers and gunships as well as the provision of external support during periods of vessel hi-jacking by pirates are also required to keep vessels and crew members safe.
Captain Micah made the above statements following the recent piracy attacks on Ghanaian registered vessels.
The first piracy attack occurred on May 19, 2021, where 5 expatriates were kidnapped after pirates hijacked a Ghanaian-registered tuna vessel on Atlantic Princess approximately 66NM South of Tema, Ghana.
The recent incident occurred on May 31, 2021, in which four Koreans and a Filipino were abducted from a Ghanaian registered fishing vessel in the Gulf of Guinea, Benin waters to be specific.
Per information gathered, 6 pirates armed with AK47 rifles boarded the commercial fishing vessel through her starboard side.
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According to Second Officer, Mark Afedi Mensah who was onboard the vessel, hours prior to the attack, they spotted an unidentified tanker near the horizon but could not at the time establish whether that was a mother vessel of the pirates or not.
He said the darkness combined with the tactics deployed by the pirates made it impossible for them to deploy evasive manoeuvres.
An assigned observer from the Fisheries Commission, Paul Odonkor said though no crew was harmed, the pirates during their short stay, disabled the vessel’s Automatic Identification System (AIS) and rummaged the cabins of the vessel for crew’s belongings.