First Ghanaian-owned marine vessel arrives to support offshore oil activities

The MV Flat Confidence vessel is the first Ghanaian-owned and Ghanaian-flagged marine vessel to support offshore activities in the oil and gas industry in the country.

Managing Director of Tullow Ghana, Wissam Al Monthiry reacting to the development said, “As a leading oil and gas company in Ghana, we recognise the active leadership role we must play to develop local capacity for participation in the oil and gas industry.

“That is why last year, we adopted the marine sector to develop local capacity in that sector to support the oil industry. We are extremely happy to have achieved this and we appreciate our key stakeholders, joint venture partners, Government of Ghana, Ports and Harbours Authority, the Ministry of Energy and the Petroleum Commission for their efforts in helping us make this possible. Hopefully, this is the start of something progressive.”

The MV Flat Confidence was acquired by Flat C Marine Offshore Limited, following a long-term contract granted by Tullow Ghana to the company that enabled them to raise finances to procure the vessel.

In 2020, Tullow Ghana embarked on an initiative to develop the local capacity of the oil and gas industry through the adoption of the marine sector with the aim of creating opportunities for indigenous Ghanaian companies to own and operate vessels to support the oil and gas industry, and upscale the capacity of Ghanaian personnel in the marine sector.

The presence of the Flat Confidence vessel is said to reflect Tullow’s commitment to develop and support capability growth to international standards in marine sectors.

The marine sector adoption initiative aims at enhancing indigenous participation with 100% Ghanaian-owned and operationally Ghanaian-flagged offshore vessels. This is also part of Tullow’s Shared Prosperity agenda which includes optimising local content and developing supplier capacity.

Meanwhile, the 71-meter long and 19-meter wide vessel will be operational in the Western region of Ghana and will support the work of Tullow Ghana’s two FPSOs – Kwame Nkrumah and John Evans Atta Mills.

Over the years, oil firms in the country have played a significant role in accelerating the socio-economic development of the country.