Accra, 4 August 2017 - Two recent emergencies - the fuel tanker explosion on May 10 at Takoradi with over 100 injuries and the injuries at the strike at Tema on June 22 - have underscored the urgency of using advanced technology to improve crisis response and emergency management of disasters.

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Fortunately, the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority drone project to design and deploy an unmanned aerial system will provide this badly-needed technology and expertise that will save costs, increase efficiency and dramatically improve the GPHA's ability to manage security and emergencies on land or at sea.

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"The ports will have a state of the art capability to assess and manage any emergency in or around the port areas, anchorages and in the Gulf of Guinea," said John Jackley, CEO of Advanced Technology Communications and Chiriquí Holdings International, which are designing the drone system and training GPHA personnel. "The response time will be immediate and in real time, day or night, and the drones will transmit real time video and other data to decision-makers. We will be able to get a drone anywhere in the port, harbour or anchorages within 90 seconds. GPHA will have eyes on any situation instantly."

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Caution expressed about further delay in deployment: read the full press statement by clicking on the image to the right.