Liberia Builds Center to Coordinate Sea Rescue for Five West African Nations
Prsident Johnson-Sirleaf Tours the Construction Site
October 24, 2008
October 24, 2008 (Monrovia, Liberia) – Only two months ago, squatters were living in the building now designated as the principal operational arm of the West African regional Maritime Rescue Coordination Center. Faded paint and hanging wires were visible and the front porch was being used for cooking and washing clothes. Today, however, when President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf toured the building located on Bushrod Island, she saw a fenced-in, freshly painted building with a new water-tower and generator house. Once restored, the building will be used by the Bureau of Maritime Affairs (BMA) and the Ministry of Defense (MOD) collaboratively to effectively and efficiently coordinate and execute the search and rescue of people in distress at sea along a designated area of the West African region.
Eight years ago, at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Conference on Search and Rescue and the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System, held in Florence, Italy, Liberia was bestowed with the distinctive honor to host the regional Maritime Rescue Coordination Center (MRCC) for the nations of Liberia, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Guinea and the Côte d’Ivoire. To effectively promote and coordinate the search and rescue efforts in the region, a multilateral Agreement was signed in 2007 by and between the Governments of the aforementioned nations. On September 15, 2008, Commissioner Binyah C. Kesselly of the Bureau of Maritime Affairs and Minister Brownie Samukai of the Ministry of Defense signed an intergovernmental agreement forging a partnership for the joint usage of the former Liberia National Coast Guard Administrative Building located on Bushrod Island to host the MRCC.
The building’s rehabilitation is being funded by the BMA, which is the principal agency of the Liberian Government responsible for administering the regional MRCC. The MOD, which exercises jurisdictional and operational authority over the Liberia National Coast Guard, as enshrined in the National Defense Act of 2008, has provided over 60 construction workers (mostly AFL retirees) to restore dignity to the old Coast Guard building, which was built in 1990 by the employees of the Coast Guard. The IMO will supply the necessary MRCC equipment and training.
The building is scheduled to be completed by the end of November 2008 and will also house the Liberia National Coast Guard Administrative Personnel, a supply of maritime-related emergency equipment, and a helicopter landing pad. Staff recruitment is underway and will be followed by training. The official MRCC launching ceremony will be attended by IMO Secretary General Mr. Efthimios E. Mitropoulos and Her Excellency President Johnson-Sirleaf in April 2009.
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