Tema: The Ghana Navy has successfully rescued seven suspected stowaways from a Belgian-registered crude oil tanker situated off the coast of Tema. The rescue operation commenced after the vessel raised an alarm about individuals concealed within its rudder trunk.
According to Ghana Web, the alarm was initially raised through the Maritime Operations Centre after the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Abidjan alerted Ghanaian authorities on May 13, 2026. The incident was reported by citinewsroom.com on May 17, 2026. The tanker, identified as MT Cap Felix, was operating approximately 200 nautical miles south of Tema Harbour at the time of the alert.
Flag Officer Commanding the Eastern Naval Command, Commodore Solomon Aseidu-Larbi, detailed the operation, noting that the Navy quickly deployed the Ghana Navy Ship Achimota under the command of Commander Ishmeal Kofi Quansah to intercept the vessel at sea. GNS Achimota departed Tema Harbour at about 7 pm the same day and successfully reached the tanker, where naval officers rescued the seven male individuals from the rudder trunk.
Commodore Aseidu-Larbi indicated that preliminary investigations suggest the men may originate from a Ghanaian community in C´te d'Ivoire and possibly boarded the tanker illegally while it was anchored in Ivorian waters. The MT Cap Felix, a Belgian-flagged crude oil tanker, has a gross tonnage of about 82,000 tons and carries the IMO number 9380738. Its last port of call before the incident was Abidjan.
The rescued individuals have been transferred to the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, Ghana Immigration Service, and Marine Police for further investigation and potential prosecution. A Ghana Immigration Service officer informed the media that the suspects would first be profiled before being transferred to the Ghana Police Service for additional action.