President John Agyekum Kufuor on Wednesday asked the Ghana Navy to spearhead efforts to check pilferage and piracy in the country's territorial waters and at the harbours.

They should be extra vigilant especially in areas where oil exploration is taking place, around rigs and other offshore facilities, he said when he commissioned two ships of the Ghana Navy: GNS Anzone and GNS David Hansen, at the Naval Base in Sekondi.

The ceremony climaxed his four-day tour of the Western Region. Anzone is the Nzema word for Shark while GNS David Hansen was named after Rear Admiral David Animle Hansen (RTD), the first Ghanaian Chief of Naval Staff who was present at the ceremony.

President Kufuor pledged the government's commitment to support the Navy to defend the country's territorial waters.

Ms Nancy Powell, United States Ambassador in Ghana, said the US selected Ghana among several other countries for the donation of the ships in recognition of the fact that the Ghana Navy would put them to good use in international peace-keeping.