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About 50 truck drivers of Satellite Trans Limited have received training on road safety as part of efforts to ensure safety.

The training, facilitated by officials from the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of Tema Regional Police Command, educated the drivers on some road safety measures.

The beneficiary truck drivers usually handle hazardous materials, and the one-day workshop held in Tema sought to educate them how to go about their job in a safe manner.

Speaking during the training, Managing Director of Satellite Trans Ltd., Samuel Apreku,  admonished the drivers to take the training seriously and make Ghana’s roads safe for all – adding that they are on the road for their own safety and the safety of other road users as well.

“We don’t want to wake up one day with the headline ‘Satellite truck involved in accident’, because the company’s vehicles being involved in road crashes costs the company a huge amount of money,” Mr. Apreku said.

Finance Manager of Satellite Trans Ltd., John Paul Dakurugu, in an interview with B&FT after the event said training and development is a key area of focus of the company because the safety of drivers and other road users is paramount.

“For us as a company, our primary aim is for every single employee to go out there and come back safely. Our focus is to ensure that there is continued safety – not just at one point but every time to update the drivers on current trends in the truck industry, and the driving laws and regulations of Ghana,” he said.

He said the training will be organised on a quarterly basis so that drivers are abreast with the latest trends in road safety.

Human Resource Manager of Satellite Trans Ltd., Annie Akwekey  Apreku, emphasised that the company will not relent but continue creating awareness until they achieve the safety standards they aspire to have as a company.

“Safety is good for the image of our company, and as an employee when you know what you have to do to keep yourself from harm, everybody is good to go on the road,” she said.

Mrs. Apreku noted that the company has in place a code of conduct and sanctions toward achieving zero accidents annually.

For his part, Inspector Richard Timinka – who is the deputy MTTD Commander of Tema Region of the Ghana Police Service, took the drivers through personal responsibility, causes of accidents, defensive driving techniques, rules and regulations on the road, among others.

DSP Paul Amoah, Tema Regional MTTD Commander, urged businesses to invest in their drivers to lessen road carnage and preserve lives.

About Satellite Trans Limited

Satellite Trans Ltd. is a Ghanaian-based company. Established 22 years ago, it specialises in providing transport and logistics services to industries in the country and the West African sub-region.

MSC recently scheduled the deployment of 23,000+ TEU vessels on their Asia-WAF Africa Express service. “At present, the largest vessel on the service is of 16,600 TEU, with the average vessel size on the service of 14,465 TEU,” according to the latest update from Sea-Intelligence. “These new phase-ins would increase the nominal capacity of the service by 50 percent, which is a substantial increase. The first of these deployments, MSC Diletta, was pulled from the Asia-NEUR Lion service, and was later replaced by a smaller 15,500 TEU vessel. This is a surprising development considering that over the past few years, the opposite trend has been prevalent i.e., smaller vessels on Asia-NEUR being replaced by larger vessels. “Figure 1 shows the average and maximum vessel size of vessels deployed on deep-sea services to West Africa. Since June 2022, the average vessel size to West Africa has grown by 50 percent. Shipping lines have also been deploying larger and larger vessels to the region, with the largest existing vessels (before MSC’s latest deployments), of over 16,000 TEU. “Since January 2024, 26 vessels of 15,000 TEU and above have been deployed on trades connecting to West Africa, of which 22 were operated by MSC on their standalone services. Additionally, these vessels were deployed across four services, three of which are these MSC standalone services. This shows that MSC is strengthening their West Africa network and anticipating an even stronger growth opportunity in the region.” The population of Africa reached 1.5 billion in 2024 and is expected to grow to 2.5 billion by 2050, the update added. “This would increase Africa’s share of the global population to 28 percent. At present, 30 percent of the 1.5 billion people are in West Africa. Furthermore, over the last 18 months, 56 percent of the ports in West Africa have seen an increasing connectivity trend.” In economic terms, the YoY growth in Sub-Saharan Africa (the only African aggregate for which the IMF publishes economic growth figures) is eclipsing that of the world as well as that of the advanced economies, the update added.

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Prof. Ransford Gyampo, Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Shippers’ Authority (GSA) has underscored the pivotal role of the GSA, the Regulator of the shipping and logistics industry in catalyzing the coming to fruition of the Reset agenda of the government of President John D. Mahama.

Prof. Gyampo amplified GSA’s resolve to employ collaboration, dialogue and mutual respect in the discharge of its mandate, to enable a conducive and fair international trading space, for both shippers and service providers irrespective of the mode of transport they choose to utilize to ply their trade.

He said; “I believe in applying a commonsensical approach to resolving issues; with the sole aim to regulate fairly, so that, shippers, shipping lines, and all the other service providers can operate effectively for the ultimate benefit of Ghana. I am a patriotic citizen, and Ghana’s interest comes first. Our focus must be to cooperate to drive business growth for the socio-economic development of Ghana.”

The CEO of GSA made these remarks when he met with the Committee of Freight Forwarders Association (CoFFA) in Tema to interact with them, apprise himself of their operations and also discuss issues of mutual interest. Prof. Gyampo said that, he is averse to armchair leadership, and so, decided to promptly meet and engage with the key stakeholders of the industry, whose Regulator he is Chief Executive of, to enable him to discharge his mandate from an informed position.

The President of the Ghana Institute of Freight Forwarders (GIFF), Mr. Stephen Adjokatcher who welcomed Prof. Gyampo on behalf of CoFFA, expressed the Association’s elation at his appointment. He lauded his governance prowess, patriotic posture and objective approach to dealing with matters of national interest. He reminded Prof. Gyampo that, it is by these standards, that CoFFA, expects the GSA under his leadership to swiftly address the persisting issues such as high and arbitrary port charges, system-driven delays that result in avoidable demurrage and the presence of some State Agencies at the ports whose activities have been more of a nuisance than of any benefit to operators at the ports.

Mr. Adjokatcher urged further, that, they expect the GSA to facilitate the implementation of the 24 Hour Economy at the country’s ports, because, a boom in business at the ports would invariably have a positive ripple effect on the entire socio-economic fabric of the nation. He applauded the GSA’s stance to utilize collaboration and dialogue in its dealings with stakeholders, and pledged CoFFA’s commitment to doing same.

Mr. Fredua Ofori-Atta, Chairman of the Customs Brokers Association of Ghana (CUBAG) reminded the GSA that, with the coming into force of its law, Act 1122 (2024), CoFFA expects action to deal with the perennial issues which hitherto were said to have remained unresolved because “the GSA had no teeth to bite.”  He added that, a structured system for consultation between GSA and its stakeholders should be established to facilitate the necessary process. He further reminded GSA that, they were looking forward to the Service Level Agreements (SLAs) for the various services provided by the shipping Lines being activated as part of the enforcement of Act 1122 (2024).

Prof. Gyampo assured CoFFA that, their feedback, advice and ideas had been well received. He entreated them to also comply fully with the laws that govern their operations. He said; “The aim of the government of President John D. Mahama is to reduce the cost of doing business in the country, and those who will not cooperate will be met with every lawful resistance. The interest of all players in the industry will be protected.”

In his concluding remarks, Prof. Gyampo acknowledged the hearty engagement by members of the Association and requested them to, “demonstrate your confidence in the GSA by lending us your support and cooperation to enable a thriving international trade sector for Ghana.”

The Director of Operations, Ms. Sylvia Asana Owu, Zonal Manager of the Eastern Zone of GSA, Mr. CharlesDarling Asiedu-Sey and the Head, Corporate Affairs, Ms. Bernice L. Natue of the GSA accompanied Prof. Gyampo on the visit.

Prof. Ransford Gyampo, GSA, CEO in group picture with members of CoFFA

Shippers’ Authority will be a fair and objective regulator – CEO

The Ghana Shippers’ Authority (GSA) avowed to be a fair and objective regulator of the shipping and logistics sector to enable a thriving international trade sector for Ghana. This was Prof. Ransford Gyampo’s assertion when he called on some shipping Lines in Tema on Tuesday, 4th March 2025.

As part of his onboarding into the operations of the GSA as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Prof. Gyampo visited the offices of Maersk and Ocean Network Express (ONE) in Tema. The visit enabled him to dialogue with the leadership of the two organizations on their longstanding relationship with the GSA, with the aim to strengthen the existing collaboration into the future.

Flanked by the Area Head of Customs Operations for the Maersk’s West African business, Mr. Mohammed Wahid, the CEO OF Maersk, Razak Ngula affirmed that they value the relationship with the GSA, which had been nurtured by successive leaders of the two (2) organizations over the years, and his leadership is committed to further strengthening the existing ties for enhanced mutual benefits. He added that, Maersk had noble intents towards Ghana, and has always assured their principals that, investment in Ghana is a step in the right direction.

At ONE, CEO Richard Smith, who received GSA’s delegation in the company of his deputy, Mr. Douglas Nanka-Bruce, expressed their profound gratitude to Prof. Gyampo for his thoughtful gesture. He stressed that, ONE has a corporate culture that prioritizes respect for the laws of the nations in which they operate, as they work towards generating sustainable benefits for themselves and their host nation.

The shipping Lines highlighted procedural delays at the ports brought on by systemic issues such as power outages; which invariably impacts the attractiveness of Ghana’s ports to the global business community adversely.

They called on GSA to intervene to address the challenges decisively to pave the way for international trade via the nation’s seaports to thrive.Prof. Gyampo assured the shipping Lines that, GSA was very keen on ensuring a conducive business environment for all players in the shipping and logistics sector to thrive, as their success holds great benefits for Ghana’s economic fortunes. He urged the continuance of the good business ethos they have practiced to date, especially, in complying with the laws that govern their operations.

Prof. Gyampo was accompanied by the Director of Operations, Ms. Sylvia Asana Owu, the Zonal Manager of the Eastern Zone of GSA, Mr. Charles Darling Asiedu-Sey and the Head, Corporate Affairs of the GSA, Ms. Bernice L. Natue.

source [BnFT]