The United Nations has approved the extension of Ghana’s Continental Shelf beyond 200 nautical miles. This can be found in two outer continental shelf polygons offshore of the country. It covers the Eastern Outer continental Shelf and the Western Outer Continental Shelf.
This feat followed the unanimous adoption of a recommendation on Ghana’s request for the extension of her continental shelf at the 35th session of the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) in New York.
Ghana has therefore become the first country in the West African sub region to receive an extension of her continental shelf.
A UN source told newsmen that Ghana can now begin the process of depositing charts and geographical coordinates of points, forming the outer continental shelf limit lines to the United Nations Secretary-General in New York and the Secretary-General of the International Seabed Authority, with its headquarters in Kingston, Jamaica.
The source congratulated the team that worked on Ghana’s submission to the CLCS for the feat achieved.
It is recalled that Ghana concluded her final inputs on March 10, this year to the United Nations’ Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf regarding a request for the extension of the continental shelf of Ghana beyond 200 nautical miles.
It followed consensus reached between Ghana, the sub-commission and the commission on a number of issues on the Foot of the Slope (FOS) and outer limits points.
Source: ISD (R.Harry Reynolds, NY)
