The Ghana Armed Forces have embarked on a maritime expedition to the geographic center of the world, where the Greenwich Meridian meets the equator.

The Exercise started on Monday, March 18, 2024, and ended on Friday, March 22, 2024, in the maritime waters around the Western Naval Command.

Dubbed “Exercise Sea Lion”, this Navy-led exercise was to test the endurance and combat readiness of selected Ghana Navy ships. This was also to train personnel in fleet maneuvers, test the interoperability of the three services of the Armed Forces, and improve counter-terrorism operations among others. It was assisted by the US Navy.

Ahead of the exercise, a flagging-off ceremony to set the ships off took place at the Port of Tema on Tuesday.

The brief parade was held in the presence of the new Chief of Defence Staff, Lieutenant General Thomas Oppong-Peprah, and the US Ambassador to Ghana, Virginia Evelyn Palmer.

The Chief of Defence Staff, Lieutenant General Thomas Oppong-Peprah, said exercises of this nature are key in building the capacity of the navy against emerging maritime threats.

“The joint nature of the exercise will help build interoperability for future operations. Contemporary security threats such as piracy and terrorism in the West-African sub-region require very capable and robust personnel, well trained and equipped to deal with them,” he stated.

The Flag Officer Commanding for the Eastern Naval Command, Commodore Maxwell Arhen, highlighted the tourism component of the exercise.

“The Ghana Navy considers this important point or location as a strategic area where the Ghana Tourism Authority could leverage to boost global tourism, for example in 2019 the Ghana Navy collaborated with the Ghana Tourism Authority under the theme year of return and it was a huge success.”