Training Institutes in Hydrography for Safety and Environmental Protection: MOWCA SG Advocates Participation of Member Countries

By Raheem Ibrahim

The Secretary General of the Maritime Organisation of West and Central Africa (MOWCA) Dr. Paul Adalikwu, has implored member countries to increase more participation in training at the Regional Maritime University in Accra and the Regional Maritime Academy of Sciences and Technologies of the Sea (ARSTM) in Abidjan on hydrographic survey of waters.

Dr Adalikwu made the appeal in his at the recently held 18th conference of the East Atlantic Hydrographic Commission (EAtHC) in Casablanca, Kingdom of Morocco.

He advocated that the two MOWCA training institutions should be supported to conduct hydrographic surveys for navigational safety for ships and promote sustainable marine environment in West and Central Africa.

According to him, the two institutions have individual and combined capacities for hosting short seminars as they already did 5 years ago and for developing hydrography programmes as part of their training for marine engineers .

This offer by the MOWCA SG was viewed as being in tandem with the programme of the International Hydrographic Organisation (IHO)to establish training centers of excellence where the conditions are the best.

The Secretary General of MOWCA also had discussions with Dr John Nyberg, Director at IHO, representing the Secretary General of this Organisation and with senior Officials of EAtHC where it was agreed that a team of EAtHC will visit the RMU and ARSTM, to consider the development of a hydrography programme at the Engineer level.

Speaking on the eligibility of the MOWCA maritime training institutions for the programme, Dr. Adalikwu identified the suitability of their premises, availability of qualified lecturers with the relevant profile and experience, possibility of partnering with International Universities that have such programmes and existence of an hydrography agency as part of the public Administration or a Technical Department of the Port Authorities in Ghana and Cote de’Voire .

Both MOWCA and EAtHC, after discussion agreed to keep contact and decide the period of the assessment visits on a later date, where they also resolved that the IHO will be invited to the 19th session of the MOWCA General Assembly, scheduled to take place in the last quarter of 2025 to address Ministers on the benefits of promoting hydrography as part of their overall maritime programmes

The EAtHC is one of the 15 Hydrographic Commissions established by IHO worldwide to coordinate hydrography and cartography activities for safety of navigation and environmental protection.

It covers the coastal area from France down to Angola, and therefore includes the coastline of MOWCA’s member States.