The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has commissioned and handed over the Ship-in-a-Box (SIAB) for the Naval Training Command at Nutekpor in the South District of the Volta Region.
This project was funded by the Embassy of Denmark in Accra and implemented by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime through the Global Maritime Crime Programme, in partnership with the Ghana Navy.
Speaking at the event, Amado Philip de Andres, the Regional Representative for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Office for West and Central Africa (ROSEN), stated that the construction of the Ship-in-a-Box (SIAB) simulator aims to enhance and support Visit, Board, Search and Seizure (VBSS) training for military and civilian maritime law enforcement personnel within the countries under the ECOWAS Zone F region.
With the completion of the Ship-in-a-Box (SIAB) simulator, it is expected that the quality of VBSS training will be greatly improved at a lower cost and a higher level of safety.
The simulator can be used for repeated practical exercises involving various maritime crime scenarios without incurring significant fuel and boat maintenance costs required for conducting exercises.
Additionally, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, in partnership with the Ghana Navy and with funding from the Government of Denmark, supported the upgrade of the Centre to a VBSS Centre of Excellence for training military and civilian maritime law enforcement personnel from the countries under the ECOWAS Zone F region.
As part of this upgrade, a Ship-in-a-Box (SIAB) simulator has been constructed. During the event, Denmark’s Foreign Affairs Minister to Ghana, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, emphasized that Denmark strongly supports the principle of freedom of navigation at sea, and their partnership with Ghana plays a vital role in securing the maritime domain.
Finally, the Minister of Defence, Dominic Nitiwul, called on the Naval Training Command at Nutekpor in the South District to make good use of the Ship-in-a-Box for its intended purpose and thanked the Embassy of Denmark in Accra for their continuous support and collaboration with the government.
Source: Odehyeba Owusu Job