Ghana - U.S. Maritime Forces Complete Enforcement Operation

The Ghana Armed Forces and the United States Maritime Forces have completed a joint maritime operation; the Africa Maritime Law Enforcement Partnership (AMLEP), as part of the Africa Partnerships Program (APS). The operation was closed, on Tuesday, by Commodore Mark Yawson, the Flag Officer Fleet, Ghana Navy and U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Tom Reck, the Vice Commander, U.S. 6th Fleet. A statement issued by the US Embassy, in Accra, said the operation was embarked by representatives from Ghana's Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, the Marine Police Unit of the Ghana Police Service, Ghana Navy, the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coastguard on �Spearhead�, the U.S. Navy's first Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV). �The operation succeeded in detecting three vessels that were violating Ghanaian maritime laws and cited the violators for follow-on judicial action, �the statement said. �The combined Ghana-U.S. efforts; an example of the Global Network of Navies, improved interoperability and capability to deter illicit activity that threatens freedom and security in the seaways,� it said. The Operations were conducted from the U.S. Navy's USNS Spearhead (JHSV 1) with support from Ghana surface vessels GNS Blika and GNS Chemle, as well as coordination from the Ghana Maritime Operations Center. According to the statement, Rear Admiral Tom Heck in his closing remarks noted: "The results of this year's AMLEP extend beyond the number of boardings and violations of maritime law. The true end result is greater security in Ghana's exclusive economic zone - security that I am confident will last." �The U.S. and Ghana have partnered for two successive AMLEP operations over the last two years, as part of the APS programme, an international collaborative maritime security capacity-building program that aims to enforce partner nation maritime law, follow-on prosecution, so that African partners will benefit from revenue that comes from judicial processes,� the statement said.