The Ghana Shippers’ Council and the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) on Wednesday organised a day's seminar in Accra to school media practitioners on the maritime industry. The seminar under the theme: "Prospects and Challenges of Ghana's Growing Maritime Industry" deepened the media's knowledge on shipping operations to enable them promote the growth of the industry. Mr Kofi Mbiah, Chief Executive Officer of the Council, said the world's sea borne trade reached an all time high of 7.4 million tonnes in 2006, adding, "Without this movement half of the world's population would have starved.” He said maritime transport continued to be the predominant mode for the carriage of cargoes globally, accounting for over 90 per cent of trade import and export by sea. Ghana records about 14.5 million tonnes of exports and imports annually. Mr Mbiah said considering the tremendous gains and advantage of maritime transport over other transport services, the Council had identified closer collaboration with the media as crucial to develop the sector. The intended collaboration, he said, was also organised within the framework of the Council’s mandate of protecting the interests of shippers in the country. He said the seminar was therefore aimed at making the media abreast with developments in the international trade and transport industry to enhance their tools in informing and educating the public. The Chief Executive Officer stated that majority of Ghanaian importers were small and medium scale traders, hence collaboration would also go a long way to boost indigenous business. Mr Affail Monney, Vice President of GJA, stressed that the role of the media was key in disseminating information on economic issues that would propel socio-economic development. He said the absence of specialized and analytical reporting on economic issues would impact negatively on the economy, hence the need for such programmes to draw the media's attention to take up the challenge. Mr Monney therefore urged the media to develop interest in reporting on shipping and effectively support the Council to boost the performance of the industry. He further called for commitment from both parties to achieve the intended objectives. Mr Samuel Ntow, Tema Port Coordinator of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, said 90 per cent of the country's foreign trade passed through the ports. He hinted that the country had witnessed tremendous growth in the sector, saying container traffic alone rose from 4.5 million in 1997 to eight million in 2007. Mr Ntow said congestion of storage facilities, limited infrastructure improvements, vehicular congestion in and around the ports and slow cargo clearance procedures were some challenges retarding the sector's progress. Giving an overview of maritime industry, Mr Justice Amegashie, Director of Policy Planning at the Ministry's of Harbours and Railways, said the Ministry's mandate of ensuring efficient, safe and reliable transport system were in line with efforts to attain the Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS II), the Millennium Development Goals and Vision 2015. He said as a result, the Ministry was working to facilitate private sector competitiveness, infrastructure and human resource and ensure the security of maritime transport. He mentioned some successes in this direction as increased transit trade, an increase of private stevedoring companies from two in 2001 to nine currently, and upgrading of the Regional Maritime Academy to a university to provide expertise relevant for global demands. Mr Amegashie said the Ministry was now working to review the Ports Master Plan, undertaking a feasibility study on the western corridor and the multi-modal freight transport from Tema via Akosombo to Buipe. He said it was also looking for investment for the construction of the 600 million-dollar Boankra Inland Port. Source: GNA