FISHERMEN THREATEN VITAL INSTALLATION (BACK PAGE, APRIL 22, 2010)

THE Single Point Mooring (SPM) facility, a vital installation of the Volta River Authority (VRA) used in pumping light crude oil from tankers at sea to the Takoradi Thermal Plant, is being threatened by the activities of fishermen.
The SPM, which is located 4.5 kilometres offshore Aboadze, is highly inflammable because it contains light crude oil used to fire turbine generators of the plant.
Reports and observations made by the VRA indicate that some fishermen get on board the facility and cook during fishing expeditions at night while others get their nets into its security zone.
This came to light at a consultative meeting in Takoradi to educate fishermen and stakeholders on the dangers of fishing around the SPM and the effect of other human activities on the operations of the thermal plant.
Sand winning activities along the seashore, which are coming close to the electricity pylons that carry power generated at the station to the VRA Takoradi sub-station, are also likely to affect the operations at the power station.
Some of the local fishermen cast and set their fishing nets in the 500-metre SPM security zone.
These activities are seen as a great threat to the SPM facility and the entire thermal plant, since any fire outbreak on the facility would extend to the power station through the marine pipelines, which are likely to cause extensive damage to the facility, the station and the nearby communities.
Each of the oil storage tanks at the power station has a capacity of 150,000 barrels of light crude oil, while the cargo vessels could carry over 450,000 barrels of light crude.
There have been situations where fishing nets cast around the SPM have entangled the propellers of cargo vessels which deliver light crude at the SPM, as well as divers who go under the sea for routine checks on the marine pipelines.
Making a presentation at the meeting, the Senior Information/Publicity Assistant of the VRA/TTPS, Mr John Chobbah, said the VRA was firmly committed to a policy of maximum safety in all its operations and demanded compliance within the terminal limits.
He said the authority strictly observed fire preventive measures and pollution controls.
Mr Chobbah said the VRA, with the help of the Ghana Navy, was trying to bring the situation under control, adding that “there is also an ongoing educational interaction with the surrounding fishing communities on the need to stay clear of the SPM”.
The SPM Co-ordinator, Mr Seth Akweitey, explained that when the Ghana Maritime Authority Services Amendment Bill, which was before Parliament, was passed, all offshore installations, including the SPM, oil rigs and the West African Pipeline Project, would be covered by the law and that no fishing and other activities would be allowed near those installations.
He explained that anybody caught near the installations after the passage of the law would be prosecuted.
The acting Operations Manager of the Takoradi Thermal Power Station, Mr Jacob Brown Yawson, said since the construction of the thermal plant over 10 years ago the VRA and the people in the nearby fishing communities had peacefully co-existed.
The Chief of Aboadze, Nana Kofi Attom, said it was not only fishermen from Aboadze, Shama and Abuesi who came to do fishing around the SPM, but also those from Komenda and Cape Coast.
He advised the fishermen not to go near the SPM to avoid any disaster.