The Ghana Navy has rescued seven suspected stowaways from a Belgian-registered crude oil tanker operating off the coast of Tema after the ship issued an emergency alert about people hidden in its rudder trunk.
The rescue followed a distress message received via the Maritime Operations Centre after the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Abidjan alerted Ghanaian authorities on Wednesday, May 13, 2026.
The vessel, named MT Cap Felix, was reported to be about 200 nautical miles south of Tema Harbour when the incident occurred.
Speaking to the media on Saturday, May 16, the Flag Officer Commanding the Eastern Naval Command, Commodore Solomon Aseidu-Larbi, said the Navy quickly dispatched Ghana Navy Ship Achimota under Commander Ishmeal Kofi Quansah to intercept the ship at sea.
According to him, GNS Achimota left Tema Harbour around 7 p.m., that day and reached the tanker, where naval personnel safely recovered the seven male suspects from the rudder trunk.
Commodore Aseidu-Larbi said early investigations indicate the individuals are likely from a Ghanaian community in Côte d’Ivoire and may have boarded the tanker illegally while it was anchored in Ivorian waters.
He noted that MT Cap Felix is a Belgian-flagged crude oil tanker with a gross tonnage of roughly 82,000 tons and IMO number 9380738, and that its last port before the incident was Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
The rescued men have been handed over to the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, the Ghana Immigration Service, and the Marine Police for further investigation and possible prosecution. An official from the Ghana Immigration Service told Graphic Online that the suspects would first be profiled before being transferred to the Ghana Police Service for follow-up action.
