Seven missing Ghanaian fishers arrive at Tema Naval Command

Seven Ghanaian fishermen who spent two weeks adrift at sea after their canoe suffered an outboard motor failure have returned safely to Ghana following a multinational search-and-rescue operation in the Gulf of Guinea.

The fishermen arrived at the Fishing Harbour in Tema aboard Ghana Navy Ship Aflao after being located in Beninese waters through a joint operation involving the navies of Ghana, Togo and Benin, alongside other security and maritime agencies.

The crew members, identified as Kofi Emmanuel, 32; Uncle Amoah, 45; Kwamena Nkum, 29; Kofi Aboagye, 36; Doboa, 35; Agya Badu, 42; and Kwamena Akyem, 40, were aboard a canoe named Second Chance when it drifted away from its intended route.

They had embarked on a fishing expedition from Sekondi to Axim in the Western Region on October 9, 2026, but an engine breakdown left them vulnerable to winds and sea currents, eventually carrying them into Beninese waters.

Speaking at a press conference in Tema on Thursday, October 22, the Director of Naval Training of the Ghana Navy, Naval Captain Festus Osei-Brobbey, said the Navy received a distress alert from the Fisheries Commission on October 20.

He explained that the canoe had suffered engine failure and drifted eastwards towards Togo before entering Benin’s territorial waters.

The Ghana Navy deployed three ships to search for the missing fishermen, while its Special Boat Squadron, working with the National Security and the Ghana Air Force, conducted maritime air patrols to support the operation.

Other agencies involved included the Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA), Fisheries Commission, Marine Police Unit, Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA), National Signal Bureau, and the navies of Togo and Benin.

The operation was coordinated under the ECOWAS Integrated Maritime Strategy and the Yaoundé Architecture framework, with support from regional maritime coordination centres in Zones E and F and the French Embassy.

Naval Captain Osei-Brobbey said confirmation came at about 10:36 p.m. on October 21 that the Beninese Navy had located the fishermen.

The rescue was carried out through a joint effort involving the Beninese and Togolese navies and local fishermen in Benin. Ghana Navy Ship Aflao later received the seven men from a Togolese naval vessel at the Ghana-Togo maritime border at about 6:49 a.m. on October 22.

He said all seven fishermen were in good condition and received food and medical attention aboard the Ghanaian vessel.

Operational challenges
The rescue operation also exposed equipment and communication challenges that affected efforts to locate the missing crew.

Naval Captain Osei-Brobbey identified gaps in distress signalling, communication systems and night-vision capabilities, stressing the need to strengthen the Navy’s equipment and maritime surveillance capacity.

He said acquiring suitable ships, high-speed interceptor boats and long-endurance maritime drones would improve wide-area patrols, early detection of distress situations and response times during emergencies at sea.

He reaffirmed the Navy’s commitment to protecting fishing communities and thanked the agencies and regional partners that contributed to the successful operation.

Meanwhile, the Executive Director of the Fisheries Commission, Professor Benjamin Betey Campion, disclosed that the Commission had received technical quotations and bids for distress-tracking devices to help fishermen communicate their locations and send emergency alerts to security agencies.

He said the Commission was assessing the available options to ensure the devices were both effective and affordable, adding that further information would be communicated in the coming months.

The proposed devices are expected to improve communication between fishing crews and security agencies and enable quicker responses when emergencies occur at sea.

The leader of the rescued fishermen, Kwamena Akyem, said the crew turned to prayer during their ordeal as they hoped for divine intervention.

He added that they threw their catch back into the sea to reduce the weight of the canoe and expressed gratitude to the governments of Ghana, Benin and Togo, as well as the agencies involved in the rescue.

Following their return, the GMA and the Ghana Navy provided the fishermen with food, toiletries, drinking water and other essential items. Each fisherman was also given a life jacket, while the GPHA arranged medical examinations.

The GMA further provided overnight accommodation and meals for the crew before their onward journey to Sekondi.