Ghana Navy Rescues Seven Fishermen After 13 Days Adrift at Sea
By Joyce Sunny, FOREIGN DESK –Â The Ghanaian Navy has rescued seven fishermen who went missing during a fishing expedition and drifted across international waters into Benin after their canoe suffered an outboard motor failure.
The fishermen disappeared on Friday, October 9, 2026, after departing Sekondi aboard a canoe named Second Chance for a fishing expedition south of Axim in Ghana’s Western Region.
According to the Ghana Navy, the canoe drifted eastward towards Togo before ending up in Beninese waters, triggering a coordinated search-and-rescue operation involving Ghanaian and regional maritime security agencies.
Speaking at a press briefing at the Eastern Naval Command in Tema on Thursday, October 22, Director of Naval Operations at the Naval Headquarters, Naval Captain Festus Osei-Brobbey, said the Navy received a distress alert from the Fisheries Commission on Tuesday, October 20, after the fishermen failed to return.
He explained that the Navy deployed three ships to search for the missing fishermen based on the canoe’s last known position.
The Ghana Navy Special Boat Squadron also collaborated with the Ghana Air Force to conduct maritime air patrols in support of the search operation.
Other agencies involved included the Ghana Maritime Authority, Marine Police Unit, National Security Secretariat, Togolese Navy, Beninese Navy and regional maritime coordination centres.
Following their rescue, the fishermen received relief supplies sponsored by the Ghana Navy upon their arrival in Tema.
The items, presented on behalf of the Chief of the Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Godwin Livinus Bessing, by the Chief Staff Officer at the Naval Headquarters, Commodore Ben Baba Abdul, included food, toiletries, life jackets and clothing.
The operation highlights the importance of regional cooperation in maritime search-and-rescue efforts across the Gulf of Guinea, where fishing activities and vessel movements frequently extend across national maritime boundaries.
