Ghana Navy
Founded	29 July 1959  (65 years, 8 months)
Country	Ghana
Type	Navy
Role	Naval warfare
Part of	Ghana Armed Forces
GN HQ	Accra,Greater Accra, Ghana
Colors	Ultramarine,Iceberg andBlue-Gray
Engagements	First Liberian Civil War
Commanders
Chiefs of the Naval Staff	Vice AdmiralIssah Yakubu
Insignia
Naval Ensign 1957−1964 1966−present
Naval Ensign 1964−1966

TheGhana Navy (GN) is thenaval warfare organizationalmilitary branch of theGhanaian Armed Forces (GAF). The Ghanaian Navy, along with theGhanaian Army (GA) andGhanaian Air Force (GHF), make up theGhanaian Armed Forces (GAF) which are controlled by theGhanaian Ministry of Defence (MoD).

The nucleus of the Ghana Navy is the Gold Coast Naval Volunteer Force formed duringWorld War II. It was established by the colonialBritish administration to conduct seaward patrols to ensure that the coastal waters of the colony were free frommines. 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 atTakoradi in theWestern Region of Ghana. The men were drawn from the existingGold Coast Regiment of Infantry. They were under the command of BritishRoyal Navy officers onsecondment. On 29 July 1959, the Ghana Navy was established by anAct of Parliament. The force had two divisions based at Takoradi andAccra respectively.^[1] 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 wasCaptain D. A. Foreman, a retired British Naval Officer. He was granted a Presidential Commission as a Ghananaval officer in the rank ofcommodore.^[2] In September 1961Nkrumah terminated the employment of British officers in the armed forces: the first Ghanaian to become Chief of the Naval Staff wasRear Admiral David Animle Hansen, who was transferred from the Ghana army to head the navy. On September 14 1990, the GNSAchimota was hit byNPFL artillery while on a fact-finding mission nearMonrovia. As a result, 2 Ghanaian sailors and 3 Nigerian nurses were killed, and theGhanaian Air Force retaliated withairstrikes.^[3]

The Ghana Navy command structure consists of the Naval Headquarters atBurma Camp,Accra. There are three operational commands, the Western Naval Command atSekondi, the Eastern Naval Command atTema and The Naval Training Command atNutekpor-Sogakope in theVolta Region.

The command comprises the following elements:^[1]

• 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

The command comprises the following elements:^[1]

• HQ Eastern Naval Command
• Basic and Leadership Training School
• Naval Base, Tema
• Ghana Navy Band, Tema^[4]

The navy is organized into the following departments.^[1]

• Operations
• Administration
• Training
• Logistics (Supply)
• Technical
• Intelligence and
• Research and Development

The Ghana Navy fulfills a broad range of roles. These include:^[1]

• 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 theGhana Police, theVolta River Authority, theElectoral Commission,Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority

46.8m patrol vessels ordered from China'sPoly Technologies subsidiary ofChina Poly Group Corporation in 2011 and delivered to GN (Ghana Navy) in October 2011. The boats were commissioned 21 February 2012.^[5]

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.

Republic of Korea Navy vessels. Chamsuri means 'Sea Dolphin'.

Name	Pennant	Builder	Launched	Commissioned	Transferred	Status	ex
GNSStephen Otu	P33	Korea Tacoma, Hyundai Heavy Industries, Hanjin Heavy Industries		July 1980	21 January 2011	Active	PKM 237

German navy. Purchased in 2005 at $35 million for the two ships.

German navy S74 Nerz and S77 Dachs. Purchased at $37 million for the two ships.^[6]

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.

• GNSAchimota (P28) –Flagship of the Ghana Navy. German built FPB 57-class patrol ship (Launched: 14 March 1979, commissioned: 27 March 1981)
• GNSYogaga (P29) – German-built FPB 57-class patrol ship (1979)
• GNSDavid Hansen – Named afterDavid 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 indigenouslanding craft.^[10]
• On 10 December 2010, the Ghana Navy received six new speedboats with complete accessories from GhanaRed Cross to facilitate its rescue mission in the country. The accessories included sixYamahaoutboard motors,life jackets, life lines, first aid equipment and maintenance tools.
• GNS Achimota (2024) - Largest ship in the Ghana Navy. Built by Kurinoura Shipbuilding^[11] inYawatahama^[12]Yawatahama,Ehime Prefecture^[13]Ehime Prefecture,Japan^[14]Japan (Commissioned 23 December 2024)^[15][2]

The initial fleet of the navy consisted of twoHam-class minesweepers, GNSYogaga and GNSAfadzato. They were recommissioned on 31 October 1959. They were joined by fourT43-class minesweepers from theSoviet Union between 1961 and 1964, threeKomar-class missile boats between 1967 and 1970 and one more in 1980, and twoYurka-class minesweepers in 1981–82.^[16] In 1965, afrigate was ordered by the government of President Nkrumah, intended to also serve as thepresidential yacht. The warship was laid down byYarrow Shipbuilders inScotland under the nameBlack 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 toMalaysia as theKD Hang Tuah.^[17]

TheGhanaian Defence Minister, Lieutenant GeneralJ. 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'sexclusive economic zone.

The GN officers in descending order of seniority:^[18]

Rank group	General / flag officers										Senior officers						Junior officers
Ghana Navy v t e
			Admiral		Vice admiral		Rear admiral		Commodore		Captain		Commander		Lieutenant commander		Lieutenant		Sub lieutenant

The GN ratings in descending order of seniority:^[18]

Rank group	Senior NCOs																						Junior NCOs						Enlisted
Ghana Navy v t e																													No insignia						No insignia
									Chief petty officer		Petty officer first class						Petty officer second class						Leading seaman						Able seaman						Ordinary seaman

• Official page
• Ghana Navy uniform insignia
• Media related toGhana Navy at Wikimedia Commons

• Military of Ghana
• Military units and formations established in 1959
• Navies by country
• 1959 establishments in Ghana

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