# Ghana Navy

The Ghana Navy (GN) is the naval warfare organizational military branch of the Ghanaian Armed Forces (GAF). The Ghanaian Navy, along with the Ghanaian Army (GA) and Ghanaian Air Force (GHF), make up the Ghanaian Armed Forces (GAF) which are controlled by the Ghanaian Ministry of Defence (MoD).

## History

The nucleus of the Ghana Navy is the Gold Coast Naval Volunteer Force formed during World War II. It was established by the colonial British administration to conduct seaward patrols to ensure that the coastal waters of the colony were free from mines. Following Ghana's attainment of independent nationhood on 6 March 1957 from the UK, the country's military was reorganized and expanded to meet its new challenges. A new volunteer force was raised in June, 1959 with headquarters at Takoradi in the Western Region of Ghana. The men were drawn from the existing Gold Coast Regiment of Infantry. They were under the command of British Royal Navy officers on secondment. On 29 July 1959, the Ghana Navy was established by an Act of Parliament. The force had two divisions based at Takoradi and Accra respectively. On 1 May 1962, the British Navy formed the Royal Navy Element of the British Joint Services Training Team, thus changing the nature of its relationship with the Ghana Navy. The first Chief of the Naval Staff was Captain D. A. Foreman, a retired British Naval Officer. He was granted a Presidential Commission as a Ghana naval officer in the rank of commodore. In September 1961 Nkrumah terminated the employment of British officers in the armed forces: the first Ghanaian to become Chief of the Naval Staff was Rear Admiral David Animle Hansen, who was transferred from the Ghana army to head the navy. On September 14 1990, the GNS Achimota was hit by NPFL artillery while on a fact-finding mission near Monrovia. As a result, 2 Ghanaian sailors and 3 Nigerian nurses were killed, and the Ghanaian Air Force retaliated with airstrikes.

## Organization

The Ghana Navy command structure consists of the Naval Headquarters at Burma Camp, Accra. There are three operational commands, the Western Naval Command at Sekondi, the Eastern Naval Command at Tema and The Naval Training Command at Nutekpor-Sogakope in the Volta Region.

### Western Naval Command

The command comprises the following elements:
* HQ Western Naval Command
* Ghana Navy Fleet
* The Naval Dockyard Complex
* Ghana Navy Stores Depot
* Naval Base, Sekondi – West Command
* The Naval Trade Training School

### Eastern Naval Command

The command comprises the following elements:
* HQ Eastern Naval Command
* Basic and Leadership Training School
* Naval Base, Tema
* Ghana Navy Band, Tema

### Departments

The navy is organized into the following departments.
* Operations
* Administration
* Training
* Logistics (Supply)
* Technical
* Intelligence and
* Research and Development

## Roles

The Ghana Navy fulfills a broad range of roles. These include:
* The monitoring, control and surveillance of fishing activities
* Maritime Presence in the West African Waters and Naval Support in the Region and Crises Areas when requested
* Surveillance, Effective Patrol and Control of Ghana's Territorial Waters and Economic Zone
* Evacuation operations of Ghanaian and other nationals from troubled spots
* Fighting and checking criminal activities such as piracy/armed robbery at sea, smuggling of illicit drugs, stowaways and dissident activities
* Disaster and humanitarian relief operations, search and rescue, and other mercy missions at sea
* Assisting civil authorities such as the Ghana Police, the Volta River Authority, the Electoral Commission, Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority

## Equipment
### Current active naval vessels
#### Snake-class patrol vessels

46.8m patrol vessels ordered from China's Poly Technologies subsidiary of China Poly Group Corporation in 2011 and delivered to GN (Ghana Navy) in October 2011. The boats were commissioned 21 February 2012.
| Name | Pennant | Builder | Launched | Commissioned | Status |
| GNS Blika | P34 | Qingdao Qianjin Shipyard, China | 1 April 2011? | 21 Feb 2012 | Active |
| GNS Garinga | P35 | Qingdao Qianjin Shipyard, China | 1 April 2011? | 21 Feb 2012 | Active |
| GNS Chemle | P36 | Qingdao Qianjin Shipyard, China | 1 April 2011? | 21 Feb 2012 | Active |
| GNS Ehwor | P37 | Qingdao Qianjin Shipyard, China | 1 April 2011? | 21 Feb 2012 | Active |

#### Balsam-class patrol ships

U. S. Coast Guard vessels. After serving the USCG for 57 years, Woodrush was decommissioned on March 2, 2001, and sold to GN (Ghana Navy) to serve as GNS Anzone P30.
| Name | Pennant | Builder | Launched | Commissioned | Transferred | Status | ex |
| GNS Anzone (~shark) | P30 | Marine Iron & Ship Builders | 28 April 1944 | 22 September 1944 | 2001 | Active | USCGC Woodrush (WLB-407) |
| GNS Bonsu (~whale) | P31 | Marine Iron & Ship Builders | 31 December 1943 | 26 July 1944 | 2001 | Active | USCGC Sweetbrier (WLB-405) |

#### Chamsuri-class patrol boat

Republic of Korea Navy vessels. Chamsuri means 'Sea Dolphin'.
| Name | Pennant | Builder | Launched | Commissioned | Transferred | Status | ex |
| GNS Stephen Otu | P33 | Korea Tacoma, Hyundai Heavy Industries, Hanjin Heavy Industries | | July 1980 | 21 January 2011 | Active | PKM 237 |

#### Albatros-class fast attack craft

German navy. Purchased in 2005 at $35 million for the two ships.
| Name | Pennant | Builder | Launched | Commissioned | Transferred | Status | ex |
| GNS Sebo (~leopard) | P27 | Fr Lurssen Werft GmbH & Co | 19 September 1979 | 2 May 1980 | 2010 | Active | |
| GNS Dzata (~lion) | P31 | Fr Lurssen Werft GmbH & Co | 19 September 1979 | 4 December 1979 | 2010 | Active | |

#### Warrior-class/Gepard-class fast attack craft

German navy S74 Nerz and S77 Dachs. Purchased at $37 million for the two ships.
| Name | Class | Type | Pennant | Builder | Launched | Commissioned | Transferred | Status | ex |
| GNS Yaa Asantewaa | Gepard-class | Fast attack craft | | Fr Lurssen Werft GmbH & Co | | 14 July 1983 | 31 July 2012 | Active | |
| GNS Naa Gbewaa | Gepard-class | Fast attack craft | | Fr Lurssen Werft GmbH & Co | | 22 March 1984 | 31 July 2012 | Active | |

#### River Class

| Name | Type | Builder | Commissioned | Status |
| GNS Pra | offshore patrol vessel | Penguin Ship Yard | 22 February 2022 | Active |
| GNS Densu | offshore patrol vessel | Penguin Ship Yard | 22 February 2022 | Active |
| GNS Volta | offshore patrol vessel | Penguin Ship Yard | 22 February 2022 | Active |
| GNS Ankobra | offshore patrol vessel | Penguin Ship Yard | 22 February 2022 | Active |

#### USCG Defender-class boat

U. S. Coast Guard. In 2008, the Ghana Navy acquired three such boats from the US Navy. They were handed over to the GN Western Naval Command in Sekondi-Takoradi. On 13 March 2010, presented four additional boats.

#### Others

* GNS Achimota (P28) – Flagship of the Ghana Navy. German built FPB 57-class patrol ship (Launched: 14 March 1979, commissioned: 27 March 1981)
* GNS Yogaga (P29) – German-built FPB 57-class patrol ship (1979)
* GNS David Hansen – Named after David Animle Hansen, first Ghanaian Chief of Staff of the Ghana Navy. A single 20 m-long ex-US Navy PB Mk III inshore patrol craft that was built in the 1970s and transferred to Ghana in 2001.
* NAVDOCK 1 – Ghana's first indigenous landing craft.
* On 10 December 2010, the Ghana Navy received six new speedboats with complete accessories from Ghana Red Cross to facilitate its rescue mission in the country. The accessories included six Yamaha outboard motors, life jackets, life lines, first aid equipment and maintenance tools.
* GNS Achimota (2024) - Largest ship in the Ghana Navy. Built by Kurinoura Shipbuilding in YawatahamaYawatahama, Ehime PrefectureEhime Prefecture, JapanJapan (Commissioned 23 December 2024)

### Past naval vessels

The initial fleet of the navy consisted of two Ham-class minesweepers, GNS Yogaga and GNS Afadzato. They were recommissioned on 31 October 1959. They were joined by four T43-class minesweepers from the Soviet Union between 1961 and 1964, three Komar-class missile boats between 1967 and 1970 and one more in 1980, and two Yurka-class minesweepers in 1981–82. In 1965, a frigate was ordered by the government of President Nkrumah, intended to also serve as the presidential yacht. The warship was laid down by Yarrow Shipbuilders in Scotland under the name Black Star, but when Nkrumah was deposed in a coup in the following year, the project was cancelled. The ship was eventually bought by the Royal Navy, commissioned as HMS MERMAID, and then sold to Malaysia as the KD Hang Tuah.

## Future plans

The Ghanaian Defence Minister, Lieutenant General J. H. Smith, announced in June 2010 that over 10 ships would be acquired as part of a short-term plan to re-equip the navy, and defend Ghana's exclusive economic zone.

## Rank structure
### Officers

The GN officers in descending order of seniority:
| Rank group | General / flag officers | General / flag officers | General / flag officers | General / flag officers | General / flag officers | General / flag officers | General / flag officers | General / flag officers | General / flag officers | General / flag officers | Senior officers | Senior officers | Senior officers | Senior officers | Senior officers | Senior officers | Junior officers | Junior officers | Junior officers | Junior officers | Junior officers | Junior officers | Junior officers | Junior officers |
| Ghana Navy vte | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Ghana Navy vte | | | Admiral | Admiral | Vice admiral | Vice admiral | Rear admiral | Rear admiral | Commodore | Commodore | Captain | Captain | Commander | Commander | Lieutenant commander | Lieutenant commander | Lieutenant | Lieutenant | Sub lieutenant | Sub lieutenant | Sub lieutenant | Sub lieutenant | Sub lieutenant | Sub lieutenant |

### Ratings

The GN ratings in descending order of seniority:
| Rank group | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Junior NCOs | Junior NCOs | Junior NCOs | Junior NCOs | Junior NCOs | Junior NCOs | Enlisted | Enlisted | Enlisted | Enlisted | Enlisted | Enlisted | Enlisted | Enlisted |
| Ghana Navy vte | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | No insignia | No insignia | No insignia | No insignia | No insignia | No insignia | No insignia | No insignia |
| Ghana Navy vte | | | | | | | | | Chief petty officer | Chief petty officer | Petty officer first class | Petty officer first class | Petty officer first class | Petty officer first class | Petty officer first class | Petty officer first class | Petty officer second class | Petty officer second class | Petty officer second class | Petty officer second class | Petty officer second class | Petty officer second class | Leading seaman | Leading seaman | Leading seaman | Leading seaman | | | Able seaman | Able seaman | Able seaman | Able seaman | Able seaman | Able seaman | Ordinary seaman | Ordinary seaman |