The Ghana Navy has commissioned a new, high-fidelity bridge simulation centre, a move that institutionalises advanced training for its sailors and supports a broader strategic push to secure the nation’s maritime domain. The facility, named the Lill-May Didriksen Simulation Centre, is located at the Naval Training Command (NAVTRAC) in Nutekpor and was developed in a joint partnership with Denmark.
The centre is designed to prepare crews for the complex, high-risk scenarios they face in the Gulf of Guinea (GoG). This region is a critical artery for global shipping but remains a hotspot for piracy, illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, and smuggling. The new simulator provides Ghana’s sailors with a tool to rehearse their response to these threats in a controlled, high-stakes environment.
The Wärtsilä Voyage System
The facility’s $370,000 technology core, supplied by the Finnish company Wärtsilä Voyage and funded by Denmark, represents a substantial leap in training capability for the Ghana Navy. The centre is not a simple desktop trainer; it is a fully integrated training ecosystem.
Its main component is a 270-degree Full Mission Bridge Simulator (FMBS). This system provides a high-immersion environment that replicates the bridge of a modern vessel, designed to train the entire bridge team—including the Officer of the Watch, navigator, and helmsman—in collaborative decision-making.
The FMBS is supported by three smaller 120-degree part-task simulators. These are used for developing individual skills, such as radar operation, electronic chart display, or ship handling, before the sailor is integrated into the full-team scenarios. The complex also includes two instructor stations for controlling and monitoring exercises, a briefing room for “hotwash” debriefs, and the necessary server infrastructure.
The project was a joint investment. Ghana’s government provided $322,000 for the construction of the building, while Denmark provided the funding for the technology and sourced instructor training from the Svendborg International Maritime Academy.
The Training Trade-Off
For the Ghana Navy, the simulator’s value is in its ability to replicate “worst-case” scenarios that are too dangerous or expensive to conduct live. Commodore Solomon Asiedu-Larbi, the Flag Officer Commanding NAVTRAC, noted that naval operations are “inherently complex and demand unwavering competence.”
The simulation centre allows instructors to program a wide range of emergencies. Crews can practice responding to engine failures, steering casualties, or bridge fires while simultaneously managing a high-speed interdiction of a non-compliant vessel. These high-stress, low-frequency events are nearly impossible to drill in the real world.
There is also a clear economic and operational trade-off. Running a live maritime patrol exercise with a Snake-class patrol vessel or a Balsam-class ship consumes thousands of litres of fuel, adds wear to engines and systems, and, most importantly, takes an active patrol asset off the front line. The simulator allows for endless, high-tempo repetitions at a fraction of the cost, keeping the operational fleet at sea where it is needed.
Commodore Asiedu-Larbi stated the centre would offer his sailors the practical skills, confidence, and experience to “operate calmly and effectively at sea, even during emergencies.”
A Strategic Partnership
The Danish support for this centre is a key part of Denmark’s multifaceted security strategy in the Gulf of Guinea. As a major global shipping nation, Denmark has a direct economic interest in stabilising the region and ensuring freedom of navigation.
This strategy includes “hard power” commitments, such as the 2021 deployment of the frigate HDMS Esbern Snare for anti-piracy operations. The simulator represents the long-term, “soft power” component of that strategy: investing in the institutional capacity of regional partners. By funding the Wärtsilä system and training its instructors, Denmark is helping the Ghana Navy professionalise its force and take sustainable, independent ownership of its own maritime security.
This aligns with the Ghanaian government’s broader economic goals. Marietta Agyeiwaa Brew, Legal Counsel to the President of Ghana, linked the facility directly to the nation’s “blue economy.”
“In our digitised era, simulation training has emerged as an indispensable tool for developing the skills needed to navigate modern maritime challenges,” Brew said. She added that secured maritime spaces lead to “thriving fisheries, increased maritime trade and sustainable offshore energy projects,” all of which this new training capability is designed to protect.
In 2023, at the invitation of the Commander of the Danish Special Operations Command (SOCOM) – Major General Michael Hyldgaard, the Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS) of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) – Rear Admiral (R/Adm) Issah Adam Yakubu visited the Kingdom of Denmark, to discuss ongoing Danish efforts in Ghana, and explore other areas for future collaboration.
The visit, from 8 to 13 October 2023, also allowed the Ghanaian Navy Chief to understand how the Danish Armed Forces functions, to ensure synergy in current and future cooperation between the two countries, on the Defence front.