The Management of the Tema Shipyard has revealed that in 2021, the company was able to surmount a deficit of USD -2.6 million to make a net profit of USD 580,000 despite the challenges the company has been grappling with over the past few years.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Tema Shipyard, Dr. Alexander Yaw Adusei Jnr, indicated that the positive financial performance was as a result of prudent management.

He told Eye on Port that, “what my team and I did was to control our expenditure and also ensure that we block leakages in the system.”

He asserted that although the positive performance did not meet the company’s target, he is confident this year the target would be met.

The Shipyard boss asserted that “if we met our target, we would have done better than the 500,000+ dollars we are talking about. We do assume that in 2022, with the strategic plan we have put together and the programs we are embarking on, the mantra 200,000 dollars a month, if we are able to stay on course, and all our workforce take ownership of that mantra, we will be able to pick ourselves up. We will be able to retool, get appropriate machinery to make more money.”

These revelations emerged during a familiarization visit by the Board of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority to the Shipyard.

The Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority since 2016, absorbed the Shipyard as one of its business units under the direction of government.

The Board Chairman of GPHA, Isaac Osei, was impressed with efforts the management and staff of the Tema Shipyard are making to keep the company afloat.

He noted that, “we have a duty of care to make sure that we bring the Shipyard back and a responsibility to the people of Ghana to make sure that this place can be operated profitably where various ships will make this place their point of repair.”

The Director General of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, Michael Luguje, expressed the commitment of the Authority to continue to give the needed support to return the Ship repair facility to prominence.

Mr. Michael Luguje said, “despite the condition of the yard, we still have the confidence of some ships who still call the yard which tells you that if we got it refurbished and modernized, it is going to drive a lot of traffic into Ghana. It is a cash cow with huge potential, and we are going to work hard to ensure that we move forward.”

In a related development, the Board of Directors of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority also paid a familiarization visit to the Kpone Unity Terminal.