Cameroon’s maritime sector gets digital boost from US outfit

A US-based research outfit is assisting Cameroon to digitalise operations in its maritime sector.

The Sandia National Laboratories, an entity of US Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration, is training Cameroonians on digitalising the registration of sea vessels.

Recently, US embassy and Sandia officials met in the capital Yaounde with the minister of transport Jean Ernest Masséna Ngalle Bibehe to review the project.

According to the transport minister, the cooperation is to get Cameroonian vessels meet international standards and make them more competitive to boost the growth of the sector.

The support package includes equipping Cameroon with a software and training maritime staff. A series of training session for maritime staff have been held for the past two years.

The government of Cameroon is expected to bear the cost of the software, and the Automatic Identification System (AIS).

According to International Maritime Organisation, AIS is a digital positional awareness system operating in the Very High Frequency maritime band, which helps to identify ships, assist in target tracking, search and rescue operation.

Mary Daschbach, deputy chief of mission at the US Embassy in Cameroon, said the US is committed to support Cameroonian transport sector beyond maritime.