On Wednesday, the Gambian Navy was given two patrol boats from The Gambia Maritime Administration to boost the country’s capability to patrol its coastal waters.
The Gambia Maritime Administration handed the two patrol boats to The Gambia Navy in a formal ceremony at the Naval Headquarters in Banjul.
The GMA says the handing over is part of its core mandate in equipping the Navy to ensure better safety and security in Gambian waters while protecting the marine environment against the harmful effects of shipping.
Karamo Janneh, Director General of Gambia Maritime Administration; Abass Saidykhan, Director of Maritime Safety and Security; and Binta Jallow-Ceesay, Director of Officer of GMA deputizing for the Board Chairman, all hope the boats will serve their intended purpose.
For a coastal country like The Gambia, Maritime security is critical. The country is plagued by several threats, from illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing to drugs and counterfeit medicines or timber trafficking and trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants through maritime routes.
With the support and donation of equipment from strategic partners like the GMA, capabilities of the Gambia Navy will be further improved, said Lieutenant Commander Fara Jobe, Commanding Officer of The Gambia Navy, and Navy Captain Sambou Barrow respectively, as they received the boats.
The GMA and the Navy have enjoyed close cooperation in their joint efforts to fight against transnational crime along maritime routes. Therefore, these two boats come when the Navy needs more to patrol our waters effectively and efficiently.
Among other responsibilities, GMA is mandated to regulate and coordinate activities within the maritime domain.
