Seven persons suspected to be stowaways have been rescued by the Ghana Navy from a Belgian-registered crude oil tanker operating off the coast of Tema.
The rescue came after the vessel raised an emergency alert over the presence of persons hidden under its rudder trunk.
On Wednesday, May 13, 2026, the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Abidjan alerted the Maritime Operations Centre in Ghana through a distress call, leading to the rescue operation.
The tanker, identified as MT Cap Felix, was said to be operating about 200 nautical miles south of Tema Harbour at the time of the incident.
Flag Officer Commanding the Eastern Naval Command, Commodore Solomon Asiedu-Larbi, addressing the media on Saturday, May 16, 2026, indicated that the Navy immediately deployed Ghana Navy Ship (GNS) Achimota under the command of Commander Ishmael Kofi Quansah to intercept the vessel at sea.
According to him, GNS Achimota departed Tema Harbour at about 7 pm on the same day and successfully reached the tanker, where naval officers safely rescued the seven male suspects from the vessel’s rudder trunk.
Commodore Asiedu-Larbi disclosed that preliminary investigations suggest the individuals are believed to be from a Ghanaian community living in Côte d’Ivoire and may have boarded the tanker illegally while it was anchored in Ivorian waters.
MT Cap Felix, he explained, is a Belgian-flagged crude oil tanker with a gross tonnage of about 82,000 tons and an IMO number 9380738, adding that its last port of call before the incident was Abidjan in Côte d’Ivoire.
Meanwhile, the seven rescued suspects have since been handed over to the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, the Ghana Immigration Service and the Marine Police for further investigations and possible prosecution.
An officer of the Ghana Immigration Service told Graphic Online that the suspects would first be profiled before being transferred to the Ghana Police Service for further action.
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