Seven Ghanaian fishermen who went missing for two weeks after their fishing canoe suffered an outboard motor failure have arrived safely at the Fishing Harbour in Tema following a multinational search-and-rescue operation in the Gulf of Guinea.
The fishermen, 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 into Beninese waters.
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 at the mercy of winds and sea currents.
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Speaking at a press conference in Tema on Thursday, October 22, 2026, 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, indicating that the canoe had suffered engine failure and drifted eastwards towards Togo and eventually into Benin.
He said three Ghana Navy ships were deployed to search for the missing fishermen, while the Navy’s Special Boat Squadron, in collaboration 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 the Ghana Navy received confirmation at about 10:36 p.m. on October 21 that the fishermen had been located by the Beninese Navy.
The fishermen were rescued through a joint effort involving the Beninese and Togolese navies and local Beninese fishermen. Ghana Navy Ship Aflao subsequently received them from a Togolese naval vessel at the Ghana-Togo maritime border at about 6:49 a.m. on Wednesday, October 22.
He said all seven were in good condition and received food and medical attention aboard the Ghanaian vessel.
Operational challenges
Naval Captain Osei-Brobbey said the operation exposed equipment and communication challenges that affected efforts to locate the fishermen.
He identified gaps in distress signaling, communication systems and night-vision capabilities, emphasising the need for improved naval assets to strengthen maritime surveillance and emergency response.
He said appropriate 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.
He reaffirmed the Navy’s commitment to protecting fishing communities and thanked the participating agencies and regional partners for their support.
Meanwhile, the Executive Director of the Fisheries Commission, Professor Benjamin Betey Campion, said the Commission had received technical quotations and bids for distress-tracking devices to enable fishermen to communicate their locations and send emergency alerts to security agencies.
He said the Commission was assessing the available options to ensure the devices were effective and affordable, adding that further information would be communicated in the coming months.
The proposed devices are expected to strengthen communication between fishing crews and security agencies and facilitate quicker responses when emergencies occur at sea.
The leader of the rescued fishermen, Kwamena Akyem, said the crew resorted to prayer during the ordeal, hoping for divine intervention.
He said they also threw their catch back into the sea to reduce the weight of the canoe and expressed appreciation to the governments of Ghana, Benin and Togo and the participating agencies for their response.
As part of the assistance provided, the GMA and the Ghana Navy supplied 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 provided overnight accommodation and meals for the fishermen before their onward journey to Sekondi.
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