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By Samuel Asamoah
The Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Livinus Bessing, has made a passionate appeal to the Ghanaian media to use its platforms and influence to advocate for greater resourcing of the Ghana Navy, warning that the nation’s maritime security—and by extension its economic future—depends on it.
Speaking at the opening of a three-day training workshop on maritime security, safety, and the blue economy in the Gulf of Guinea, Rear Admiral Bessing said the Navy’s ability to safeguard Ghana’s territorial waters continues to be hampered by inadequate logistics and outdated equipment.
“It’s not because we do not know how to do our work,” he said. “We simply don’t have the needed tools to do our work.”
He cited a recent example in which a French naval vessel intercepted over ten tonnes of narcotics in Ghanaian waters—an operation that, he noted, the Ghana Navy could not have executed due to logistical constraints.
Rear Admiral Bessing lamented that many of Ghana’s maritime challenges remain unseen and underreported because they occur “far from the shoreline and hidden from public view.” He urged journalists to bring these invisible threats—such as piracy, drug trafficking, and illegal fishing—into public and policy discussions through sustained advocacy and reporting.
“Security issues on land are easily covered because they can be seen,” he said. “But what happens at sea normally goes unnoticed. That is why we need the media to play an advocacy role so governments can appreciate the need to provide resources for the Navy.”
The Navy Chief revealed that Ghana loses an estimated US$200 million annually to Illegal, Unregulated, and Unreported (IUU) fishing and other maritime crimes, a situation that could be mitigated with modern patrol vessels and surveillance systems.
He also expressed frustration over government delays in acquiring two Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs)—a flagship Navy project that has remained on paper since 2010. “This project has gone through several governments, but we have yet to get it. The platforms cost less than US$200 million,” he noted. “From 2010 till now, US$200 million multiplied by 15 years could have bought us several of the platforms. This is the sort of advocacy I want to challenge the media to take up.”
The workshop, organized jointly by the Gulf of Guinea Maritime Institute (GoGMI) and the EU-Enhanced Maritime Action in the Gulf of Guinea (ENMAR) project, is funded by the European Union and implemented by Expertise France. It aims to build the capacity of journalists to report effectively on maritime security, safety, and the blue economy.
Emmanuelle Lécuyer, representing the ENMAR Project, underscored the global importance of the Gulf of Guinea, through which over 80% of international trade passes. However, she warned that the region continues to face severe threats from piracy, smuggling, and illegal fishing, which directly undermine local economies and food security.
“Constructive and factual reporting can drive accountability and encourage better maritime governance,” she emphasized.
Air Vice Marshal Frank Hanson also drew attention to the problem of “sea blindness”—the general lack of public understanding of maritime issues—and commended the role of journalists in bridging the gap between national security concerns and public awareness.
Echoing Rear Admiral Bessing’s sentiments, GJA President Albert K. Dwumfour, who delivered the keynote address, called on journalists to make maritime issues a central part of national development reporting.
“Too often, maritime issues are treated as matters for specialists and remain hidden from the public eye,” Mr. Dwumfour said. “However, when journalists make these issues visible and explain the human cost of illegal fishing, the risks of piracy, or the promise of a thriving blue economy, they do more than inform—they drive accountability and better governance.”
He encouraged journalists to see the maritime story as both a Ghanaian and West African development story, urging diverse and inclusive storytelling to ensure all voices are represented in maritime discourse.
“The ocean’s future must not be narrated by a few,” he concluded.
The three-day training workshop is expected to enhance the capacity of journalists to produce impactful stories that promote maritime security, highlight the economic potential of the blue economy, and strengthen advocacy for a well-equipped Ghana Navy capable of defending the nation’s maritime interests.
