ACCRA, May 17 (THE AFRICAN PORTAL) – Ghana’s navy rescued seven suspected stowaways from a Belgian-flagged crude oil tanker off the coast of Tema after the vessel reported people hidden in its rudder trunk, naval officials said on Saturday.
The rescue followed an alert transmitted through the Maritime Operations Centre after the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Abidjan notified Ghanaian authorities on May 13.
The tanker, MT Cap Felix, was operating about 200 nautical miles south of Tema Harbour when the incident occurred, the navy said.
Commodore Solomon Aseidu-Larbi, Flag Officer Commanding the Eastern Naval Command, told reporters that the navy deployed Ghana Navy Ship Achimota, commanded by Commander Ishmeal Kofi Quansah, to intercept the vessel.
The naval vessel departed Tema Harbour at about 1900 GMT on the day of the alert and rescued the seven male suspects from the ship’s rudder trunk, Aseidu-Larbi said.
Preliminary investigations indicated the men were believed to be from a Ghanaian community in Ivory Coast and may have boarded the tanker illegally while it was anchored in Ivorian waters, he added.
The MT Cap Felix, which has a gross tonnage of about 82,000 tonnes and IMO number 9380738, had last called at the port of Abidjan before the incident, according to the navy.
The suspects were handed over to the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, the Ghana Immigration Service and marine police for further investigation and possible prosecution. An immigration official told local media the men would be profiled before being transferred to police custody.
