President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo Tuesday commissioned the new Naval Training Command at Nutekpor, in the South Tongu District of the Volta Region.

The Command, which will host all the Navy's training schools, will serve as the nerve centre of the Navy’s training doctrine, to improve the development of human resources in the Navy and other stakeholders in the maritime industry.

The seven major schools under the Command are: The School of Maritime Operations, Supply Application School, Marine Engineering and Electrical Application School, Basic Leadership Training School, the Recruit Training School, Special Forces Training School and the Diving School.

At a short ceremony at Nutekpor, the President pointed out that increasing economic activities and associated challenges in Ghana's maritime domain, particularly in the oil and gas and fisheries sectors, called for the presence of a well-trained maritime force for the purposes of offering enhanced protection.

He noted that the threats presented by piracy and armed robbery to national and regional maritime activities in the Gulf of Guinea demanded that every naval officer and sailor "was equipped with creative solutions to deal with present and future maritime security challenges, and stay ahead of the criminal actors at sea.”

President Akufo-Addo who is on a tour of the region, said the establishment of Naval Training Command was a greater part of government's policy to secure Ghana's maritime environment.

He stated that the schools under the Command would impart the knowledge and skills required of naval personnel to attain the appropriate professional standards, and maintain operational readiness in accordance with the Navy’s operational procedures.

The President also indicated that the schools would be equipped to leverage technology, and use new training methodologies to enhance learning and achieve greater efficiencies in line with Government’s agenda of technology and digitisation.

The facilities that have been completed and ready for use, under Phase One of Project, are the Command Headquarters, the School of Maritime Operations, the Recruit Training School, the instructors’ and students’ accommodation blocks, library, medical centre and a mini Mosque.

All these, and other facilities, earmarked for construction, sit on a 114 acre land, which has been fenced to ward off encroachers. In addition, the Ministry of Defence is in the process of securing 250 acre land on the outskirts of the Command for the construction of an outdoor shooting range to support training.

President Akufo-Addo noted that, upon the successful completion of the remainder of the schools, “the Training Command will become a maritime training centre of excellence, attracting trainees from other security services and maritime stakeholders from both within and outside Ghana, in line with the tenets of the Yaoundé Code of Conduct.”

“We believe that retooling the Armed Forces, in general, and the Navy, in particular, is the surest way to support the principles of the Code of Conduct, which calls for resourcing the navies in the Gulf of Guinea States to enhance collaboration in joint operations and information sharing.

"We, in Government, would, therefore, give maximum support, and ensure that the construction of the remaining schools commence in earnest to make the Command fully operational,” he assured, and thanked the Chiefs and people of the Agave Traditional Area for thier support to the project.