Accra, Sept. 17, GNA - Ghana Oil and Gas Providers Association on Monday said Tullow Oil with the help of the Ghana National Petroleum Cororation (GNPC) was violating the policy of the International Maritime Authority Medical Standard by bringing their own policy which was not recognised.

A statement signed by the Executive Secretary of the Association, Mr. Nuetey Adzeman, said Tullow Oil did not accept International Maritime Authority Medical Standard, under which falls the Seafarers Medical Certificate, administered by the Ghana Maritime Authority, but rather that of UK Oil and Gas Standard Policy (UKOOA).

This policy, according to the statement, stated that no worker working on their rig could do without it, adding that this was totally unfair to the local seafarers and their organisations.

"According to their policy, the UK Oil and Gas Standard Policy

(UKOOA) is their accepted standard and all must comply with it. They

even go on to state it in their contract that no worker can do without it." The association said it wondered why the GNPC agreed with Tullow

when they decided only on UKOOA while ignoring the International

Maritime Authority Medical Standard which was accepted worldwide. The statement said Tullow Oil had also recommended two other

auxiliary medical bodies - West African Rescue Association (WARA) and

the International Save Our Souls (ISOS), to also issue medical

certificates. It said while the process of issuing the recognised International

Maritime Authority Standard Certificate was GH¢100, that of ISOS

ranged from $5,000 to $10,000 adding that this did not mean that any

worker sent there was attended to without extra charge. The statement explained that the GH¢100 paid to the Ghana

Maritime Authority stayed in Ghana but that paid to WARA and ISOS

went outside Ghana because these were foreign companies. It explained that if a worker attended a medical examination at

WARA to enable him to work on the rig for two days and the medical

cost was over $1,100, then how much could the employer charge per day

aside salary? This eventually made the employer (company) run at a loss and

gradually put out of business.