Tullow Ghana has taken delivery of Ghana's first-owned marine vessel, MV Flat Confidence, after a successful Offshore Vessel Inspection Database (OVID) testing on November 5, 2021.

As the first Ghanaian-flagged vessel, it is to support the offshore gas industry.

A statement issued in Accra by David Jones Amoah, the External Affairs officer of Tullow Ghana, said the MV Flat Confidence was acquired by Flat C Marine Offshore Limited, following a long-term contract granted by Tullow Ghana to the company to enable them to raise funds and procure the vessel.

The 71-meter long and 19-meter wide vessel will be operational in the Western Region and will support the work of Tullow Ghana’s two FPSOs – Kwame Nkrumah and John Evans Atta Mills.

In 2020, Tullow Ghana embarked on an initiative to develop the local capacity of the oil and gas industry through the adoption of the marine sector with the aim of creating opportunities for indigenous Ghanaian companies.

The goal was to own and operate vessels to support the oil and gas industry and build the capacity of Ghanaian personnel in the marine sector.

He said the presence of the Flat Confidence vessel reflected Tullow’s commitment to develop and support capability growth to international standards in the marine sector

Mr Wissam Al Monthiry, Managing Director, Tullow Ghana, said, “As a leading oil and gas company in Ghana, we recognise the active leadership role we must play to develop local capacity for participation in the oil and gas industry.”

He said that was why last year, they adopted the marine sector to develop local capacity in that sector to support the oil industry.

"We are extremely happy to have achieved this and we appreciate our key stakeholders, joint venture partners, government, Ports and Harbours Authority, the Ministry of Energy and the Petroleum Commission for their efforts in helping us make this possible. Hopefully this is the start of something progressive," he added.

The MD said the marine sector adoption initiative aimed at enhancing indigenous participation with 100 per cent Ghanaian-owned and operationally Ghanaian-flagged offshore vessels.

"This is also part of Tullow’s Shared Prosperity agenda which includes optimising local content and developing supplier capacity," he said.

He said oil companies in Ghana played a significant role in accelerating the socio-economic development of the country.

Over the years, Tullow and its partners have succeeded in empowering and supporting Ghanaian businesses to participate in the oil and gas industry