The crew left Sekondi on 9 October and were located nearly two weeks later by local fishermen off Benin, with police now arranging their return home.
Seven fishermen who disappeared after leaving the Sekondi Fishing Harbour in the Western Region have been found alive in Benin's territorial waters, the Western Regional Marine Police Command has confirmed.
The men were spotted by local fishermen in Benin on Wednesday, 21 October, at about 10 p.m. The Marine Police, a unit of the Ghana Police Service that handles crime and safety at sea and along the coast, announced the rescue in a statement the following day, Thursday, 22 October.
Who they are
The Command identified the seven as Kofi Emmanuel, 32; Uncle Amoah, 45; Kwamena Nkum, 29; Kofi Aboagye, 36; Doboa, 35; Agya Badu, 42; and Kwamena Akyem, 40.
How they went missing
According to reporting by The Ghana Report, the canoe set out from the Sekondi Fishing Harbour on Friday, 9 October, for a fishing trip off the coast of Axim, also in the Western Region.
When the crew did not return as expected, the owner of the canoe, Nana Kweku Atta, tried repeatedly to reach them without success. He reported the matter to the Fishing Harbour Police Station in Sekondi on Sunday, 18 October.
Police said their early checks confirmed that no contact could be established with any of the seven men, which deepened concern about what had happened to them at sea.
From the day the canoe left Sekondi to the day the men were found is nearly two weeks. The rescue came three days after the disappearance was formally reported to the police.
Getting them home
The Marine Police Command said arrangements are being made to bring the seven back to Ghana safely. That work involves the Marine Police, the Ghana Navy, and counterpart agencies in Benin and Togo, since the men must travel back along a coastline that crosses more than one national border.
Benin lies east of Ghana along the Gulf of Guinea, with Togo in between. Canoes that lose engine power or drift in strong currents can be carried long distances along that stretch of coast.
Why it matters
Artisanal fishing supports thousands of households in coastal communities in the Western Region and along Ghana's shoreline. Cases of canoes losing contact at sea are a recurring worry for those families, and for relatives abroad who often learn of such incidents days later.
The statement did not give details on the condition of the seven men, what caused them to drift, or when exactly they are expected back in Ghana. Those details are likely to come from the police or the Ghana Navy once the repatriation is complete.
