French Naval vessel on goodwill visit

Tema, Oct. 20, GNA - A French Naval vessel, LPD Sirocco, berthed at the Tema port at the weekend for a four-day goodwill visit to the country.

Captain Pierre-Marie Delplanque who is in-charge of the vessel told journalists at a press briefing on Monday that LPD Sirocco has a system where forces aboard it could be deployed by air and also sea borne ashore on a hostile coast.

Capt. Delplanque disclosed that during their four-day visit in Ghana, they would engage their Ghanaian counterparts in military exercises at sea, using the two amphibious vessels on board the vessel. The vessel is fitted with communication equipments, providing an embarked staff with full tactical command ability for a force within the frame of national or allied amphibious operations.

Capt. Delplanque explained that LPD Sirocco is also described as a hospital ship, because she provides medical support to a naval force, for humanitarian operations or the evacuation of nationals. The ship has a 40-bed hospital, and can also be fitted with additional medical units and could carry out 30 surgical operations within five days with her two surgery units.

MV Sirocco, who is on its maiden visit to Ghana has a 220-member crew, 18 of them officers. It is 69 meters long and weighs 12,000 metric tonnes.

The Captain later paid a courtesy call on Nii Adjei Kraku II, Chief of Tema.

Nii Kraku enumerated the history of Tema and presented a miniature of the Tema Stool to the Captain. He also called on Mr Samuel Evans Ashong Narh, Tema Municipal Chief Executive.