Africa Partnership Station to offer humanitarian assistance in Ghana

High Speed Vessel Swift (HSV 2), a humanitarian vessel, has arrived in Ghana to begin a port visit in support of Africa Partnership Station (APS) West 2012.

The vessel, which arrived on August 12th this month, would engage in a variety of events to support APS goals with a focus on building cooperative partnerships with regional maritime services to achieve common international goals, primarily stability and security.

This was contained in a release issued by the Press Attaché of the American Embassy, Ghana, copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Tuesday.

A team of doctors and nurses on the vessel would conduct the Medical Civic Action Programme (MEDCAP) during a three-day outreach event at Supomu Dunkwa Health Centre.

The event, which began on Tuesday, August 14, would provide healthcare services to the public; the medical team would work with health professionals from Ghana to share information and best practices.

The vessel would off-load various humanitarian supplies as part of Project Handclasp, which is a US Navy initiative that accepts and transports educational, humanitarian and goodwill material overseas by ship on a space available basis.

“Subject-matter expert exchanges will be conducted by US Marines from members of Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force Africa (SPMAGTF) 12-2 Security Cooperation Team 6, and Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) instructors. Members of the Nigerian navy would conduct a leadership course for non-commissioned officers on the vessel as well,” the release added.

HSV-2 Swift is an Australian built, privately-owned, privately-operated vessel that has been outfitted for the US Navy.

Swift is crewed by civilian mariners, who operate, navigate, and engineer the ship, and a military detachment, which oversees theatre security cooperation efforts.