Eight days on the high seas- Sammy Darko’s assignment

After eight days on the high seas, I returned with malaria and Neckpains. As to when I was struck down by the malaria fever I do not know. But one thing is sure, a day before sailing I had a mosquito bite that night in my hotel room in the Twin City of Sekondi –Takoradi in the Western Region. At least that’s were I begun my voyayue to the land of nowhere- the sea. But wait for a moment, what on earth was I doing on the high seas instead of being in parliament reporting?

I was one of two privileged Journalists to board a US Naval ship currently in the sub region to train naval officers from the West African coast on maritime safety and security- they call it African Partnership Station.

It started four years ago and is facilitated by the U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa and other international partners. The goal is to build the capacity of African Navies to better protect its territorial waters from any of these illegal activities on the high sea- drug trafficking, human trafficking, illegal fishing, piracy and illegal oil bunkering.
It also seeks to build synergy, friendship and unity among naval officers in the sub region as they train, learn and live under one roof. In essence it helps to build regional cooperation among navies in the West African Coast.
At the end of the training, these naval officers have gained both theory and practical training on how to safeguard the countries territorial waters. They were trained in four key areas including maritime domain awareness and law enforcement, professional development, search and rescue, small boat maintenance and how to impound illegal vessels on the sea as well as how best to protect oil platforms.

Why Africa
The program is meant for naval officers in West and Central Africa, however maritime experts believe the West African coast is gradually becoming an attractive destination for pirates who find patrol on the seas in these areas either absent or weak.
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Gunston Hall
Gunston Hall is how the Americans call the naval ship I travelled on. To give you an idea of how this ship looks like, picture two football fields put together. It’s a well equipped vessel with almost everything on board from a barber shop to smoke decks. Gunston Hall is a six story structure ship. It has a flight deck that can accommodate two aircrafts and a well deck equipped with three other smaller ships- it’s called the LCU’s.
The Gunston Hall mission I am told is to transport United States marines with their combat equipment to designated areas around the world and to launch and support landing craft and helicopters during amphibious operations against hostile shores. To move out the smaller ships onboard, the well deck of the ship is flooded with water.

Gunston Hall has a crew member of about 300. Their job is just to sail and maintain the ship. However for this trip Gunston Hall served as a mobile university - it had several lecture halls built purposely to train and accommodate dozens of naval officers from Africa and those from the U.S and other countries in Europe.

Life on the Sea
After sailing on the high seas for two days, I got a sickness known in naval parlance as sea sick- headache, vomiting and occasional feeling of throwing up. It’s a normal sickness so they say and mostly affect first time sailors- I am told mine was a mild one and that is because I was travelling on a big ship so the tossing and rocking caused by the sea waves was not that much compared to being on a smaller vessel.

The ship in my estimation though a military one could best be described as a little city. It was full of activities, people going to work in offices and garages every day, students learning both theory and practical studies on the high seas with other ships, food centre, vending machines, shopping and above all entertainment centres. I clearly remember the talent night show typical of American idol among the crew members and the naval officers onboard and the beach party at the high seas, the barbecue and the dance.

It was all excitement as dozens rocked themselves to hip hop tunes oozing from loud speakers at the flight deck. The shopping centre was the most attractive to the African sailors particularly the Nigeria folks who shopped to the degree that the US had to temporary close down the shop until our African friends get out of the ship- it was simple, the Africans were spending their monies on almost everything in the shop, from sanitary pads for women to hair dryers whilst the white folks stuck to confectionaries and cigarettes. I think it was not surprising that the shop was closed down in the sense that the items in the shop are meant to keep the sailors onboard over a long voyage and not to be bought at a goal like OUR African friends just did- shopping anyhow because they find things very economical. Some went to the extent of buying additional travelling bags in the shop to keep the new items.

Crossing the equator
It’s a rare opportunity for sailors to cross the equator. The equator is just an imaginary line that divides the Northern hemisphere from the Southern hemisphere. Vessels recognise they have reached the equator when both the longitudes and latitudes signals on the Ships radar read zero degrees. At this moment the sea becomes very stable like water in a glass.
Symbolically old sailors have placed a bough at the centre of the equator. It is a phenomenon the navy cherish so much that there is a tradition and ritual they perform and observe anytime a ship crosses the equator – they call it SHELLBACK. Shellback is any sailor who has crossed the equator before. What this means is that anytime a naval ship crosses the equator those who have never perform the ritual will have to go through the tradition to officially become one.
That rituals I am told has modified over time. It now includes lots of training exercises to better you as a naval officer. In the past, Shellbacks use to molest and maltreat the green horns the dawn before the ship crosses the equator.
The festival
I do not know the exact origin of this ritual but I am told it’s as old as the first sailors who discovered the equator centuries ago. It’s a day when the God of the sea known as King Neptune judges all sailors on the ship to ensure that no wog crosses the equator without going through the ritual- in essence the ritual is a process of cleansing yourself to qualify to cross the equator.
I was surprised to see seasoned naval officers subjected to this ritual and that is because they’ve never crossed the equator before all their lives despite years of sailing. The ritual can be nasty to the extent of through water boarding, crawling in dirty water and spoilt food spread all over the flow. At the final stage, candidates who excel are made to kiss the dirty stomach of one of the servants of King Neptune.

The Islands of Sao Tome and Principe
Our sailing on the high seas took us to the island of Sao Tome and Principe. What struck me most about the city is the freshness and neatness of the sea water. One can virtually see all the weeds and flowers deep in the sea. We docked at the only port of the city- the Afaninga Port in the morning at about 7am. The port is so small to accommodate the US naval ship so we anchored several nautical miles in the sea and sailed there in a smaller ship.

From a distance, the fortress, hotels and colonial structures along the sea portrays the country as very developed and a place to be, however poverty and underdevelopment stares you in the face when you get closer- bad roads, ramshackle buildings and lost hopes of a people that appear to be expecting a miracle to change their lives.
There are only three major roads in the island- North South and West. It has a land mass of about a 1000 sq with a population less than 200 thousand. Their major occupation is farming and fishing. Their political setting and media landscape is typical of Ghana.

They all speak Portuguese and as I understand from their history- they are descendants of a bunch of slaves drawn from many countries in Africa sent to the island to work on cocoa farms for the Portuguese. They speak no local language except Portuguese. Their women look plump and short. The country imports almost everything from bed sheets to ear bags.





The stranded Ghanaian sailor
My curiosity to find out more about the town took me and my colleague Moses Akrobeto of Daily graphic to outskirts of the ports. Interestingly, motorbikes popularly known as Okada are one of the cheapest means of transport there. When we moved out, most riders approached us unfortunately they speak no English.
At this point I decided to try my little French I learnt whiles onboard the ship, truly one of the riders knew how to speak French somehow- it was afternoon so I greeted Bon-Aprie-midi bonsoir.
As we communicated he learnt we were Ghanaians and all of a sudden started calling out the name of this Ghanaian who sat in the open from far away looking quite morose under the scotching sun. Immediately he saw us, a big smiled beamed on his face and he begun to run towards us.
After a few chats, he began to tell us about his story and how he ended up in Sao Tome with virtually nothing left. He says the past one and a half years have been a period of struggle just to get back home. Emmanuel Arthur, 49, told me he has been wandering in the country because he cannot afford $300 to pay for his journey back home.
Arthur, a native of Komenda and a father of three children, went to Sao Tome as a sailor on a Spanish vessel but he missed the return journey. Mr. Arthur said although he has lost all his belongings, he would love to return home.


The sleepless night
Our return journey was quite smooth and fast but somehow I sensed desperation on the faces of most of the African naval officers and don’t get me wrong I was also desperate to get back home- I said to myself just eight days on the sea and I have missed home like that- maybe this could be due to the uncomfortable period of having to bath and drink treated sea water and above all the uncomfortable food of the US- although we were fed morning, afternoon and evening, their food in my estimation is nothing compared to our local food- it lacked salt, pepper and too oily.


The night before the ship entered the waters of Ghana was a sleepless one for many of us, I noticed many of the officers pull out their mobile phones shuttling between the bedroom and the flight deck to check if they had reception on their phones from 12 midnight to about 3 am and that is because the ship network does not permit any other signal be it internet or telephone signals inside the ship, the only way to make calls even if you are in a coverage area is to move out to the flight deck.
After a short sleep, I woke up at about 3 am, manuvered my way to the flight deck in the darkness- just before I could reach there, I noticed one Ghanaian naval officer a few metres away laughing and shouting on his phone, I switched on my phone, noticed I had reception, then it suddenly dawned on me that really - there is no place like home

APS begins training on Gunston hall for Ghana and most West African colleagues

The United States Africa Command is collaborating with the Ghana navy to ensure maritime peace and security in the country’s high seas.

The naval command says the training has become necessary to check increasing illegal activities such as drug trafficking, fishing and dumping of waste along the West coast. The project will also involve training for Ghana’s Navy and navy from most west African countries-Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameron as well as logistical support.


The training is been conducted on the US naval ship-Gunston hall. The ship will for the next eight days serves as a mobile university given tutorials and practical training to the navy personnel onboard the vessel.

Joy FM’s Sammy Darko will be on the patrol ship and he believes the trip will be a challenging one.

Expectations

The capacity of the Ghana Navy is soon expected to be boosted to a level where they can ward off most illegal activities on the high seas.

In recent times, concerns have been raised about the country’s inability to combat drug traffickers, illegal fishing and dumping of waste on the high seas.

That is because the Navy lacks the equipment and required skills to do so. But the US Africa Command is hoping to reverse the trend with its African partnership station.

Pirates on high seas

The object of this program is to improve maritime safety and security on the African continent. Under the program, officers of the Ghana Navy will be given professional training and provided with some logistics to aid in patrol offshore.


For instance, under this exercise the US has given Ghana four defender class boats for surveillance.

These are fast speed boats attached to a vessel to chase out criminals on the high seas. The training is considered crucial as the nation prepares to sell its oil in commercial quantities in the last quarter of this year.


Story by Sammy Darko/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana

17 Ghanaian navy officers and sailors undergo training on how to secure the nations maritime boundary on a US navy ship

Seventeen Ghanaian Navy officers and sailors are receiving training on how to secure the nations maritime boundary on a US naval ship currently on sail on the gulf of Guinea.

Also onboard the ship are navy officers from other West African countries. The idea is to pull together synergy on how to check insecurity on the African waters in recent times.


The training is being organized by the United States naval forces Africa and its partners under a program code named African partnership station.

The reporter is currently onboard the USS Gunston hall currently enroute to Sao Tome and Principe to deliver some items. It will take us roughly four days to get there.

To give you an idea about the ship I am on, picture two football fields put together, that is how big this ship is.

It is a well equipped vessel. Inside this ship are several lecture halls where naval officers from Ghana and other West African countries are undergoing tutorials on a wide range of maritime courses with emphasis on professional development, respond capabilities, and infrastructural development.

Some of the students tell me the lessons have been very useful. " I have learnt how to administer first aid to any of my offers if they were to suffer injury- A ghanaian naval officer said".

For the next seven days, trainees are expected to also undergo practical training as we sail to Sao Tome and back to Tema.

Captain Ossinowo is the deputy commander for African Partnership Station-APS. He says African more than ever needs to recognize it's maritime domain awareness and protect it from criminals on the highseas.

Sammy Darko
Joy Fm
Accra-Ghana

300 dollars leaves 49 year old Ghanaian stranded in Saotome and Principe

A 49 year old Ghanaian sailor is stranded in far away Island of Saotome and Principe.


Emmanuel Arthur has been wandering in that country for a year and a half now just because he cannot get 300 dollars to pay his transport back home for the long voyage.


Mr. Arthur a native of komenda and a father of three children went in search of job in Togo. He got employed as a sailor on a Spanish vessel named ‘Sonia to fish in deep waters across countries.


But he was left behind at Saotome’s Afaninga harbor in one of the trips on the high seas and for a year and a half now he has been looking forward to getting back home in vain.



Several attempts to stow away to Ghana failed however when he gathered resources to board a vessel bound for Nigeria enroute to Ghana- he was thrown out of the vessel after naval officers discovered he had no visa.


JOYNEWS' Sammy Darko and Graphics' Moses Akrobeto uncovered this man on a visit to Saotome on a US naval vessel which had entered the country to deliver items to a charity organization.


The two in a frustrating interaction with residents there were told about the plight of Mr. Arthur who in an attempt to survive in that country has learnt how to speak Portuguese by force.