Ghana Maritime Authority signs MoU with Malta
The Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Maltese Maritime Administration for the mutual recognition of seafarer certificates of competency.
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The signing was a culmination of intensive consultations and exchange of correspondence between the Director General of the GMA, Mr Peter Issaka Azuma and the Maltese Maritime Administration.
It was in accordance with the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), Convention on the Standards of Training, Certificate and Watch keeping for Seafarers (STCW), which provides the global minimum requirements for the training of seafarers.
Mr Azuma said the MoU provided the opportunity for Ghanaian seafarers to access employment on Maltese flagships, adding that Malta had the world’s fifth-largest merchant fleet after Panama, Liberia, Greece and the Bahamas.
He said there were quite a number of Ghanaian seafarers currently employed on Maltese vessels who would have lost their jobs without the MoU.
“A number of MoU had already been signed with almost 70 per cent of the flag states of the international maritime community, which would significantly facilitate the employment of Ghanaian seafarers on the global level” Mr Azuma added.
The director general assured the seafaring community that the authorities would not relent its effort to ensure the welfare of Ghanaian seafarers, now that the European Parliament had passed a law approving certificates issued by the authority.
Mr Azuma said the draft regulations to implement the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Maritime Labour Convention, which was recently ratified by Parliament had been prepared by the authority and was in the process of being finalised for passage to provide decent working conditions for seafarers.
Daily Graphic/Ghana
