A broken outboard motor turned a routine fishing trip into a near two-week drift across three countries’ waters, ending in a rescue that involved three navies.
Seven fishermen from Ngyiresia, a fishing community near Sekondi in the Western Region, have spoken publicly for the first time about the 12 days they spent drifting at sea after their canoe lost power.
The men left the Sekondi Fishing Harbour on Friday, 9 October for a trip to waters off Axim. They never came back on schedule and were declared missing. They were eventually found on the night of 21 October, around 10:00 p.m., by local fishermen in Benin's territorial waters.
The seven are Stephen Quansah, Kobena Kum, Uncle Amoah, Kwasi Emmanuel, Kwame Abedu, Kwamena Komfo and Kwamena Akyem.
How the trip went wrong
Speaking to journalists after being reunited with their relatives, the crew said the trouble began when the canoe's outboard motor failed far from shore. With no engine, they had no way to steer against the sea.
"Our outboard motor broke down at sea and left us at the mercy of winds and currents," they told reporters in an account carried by Daily Guide Network.
Strong currents pushed the canoe eastward, away from Ghana, first into Togolese waters and then into Benin's.
Distress calls that went unanswered
Stephen Quansah, who is also known as Kwabena Awil, said the hardest part early on was being ignored. "Ships were not responding to our distress calls. We wept throughout," he said.
He said the crew had to manoeuvre a powerless canoe away from an approaching storm before they managed to make contact with one vessel. According to him, the people on board that vessel told them the area was dangerous and warned them to move on.
Quansah described a terrifying moment at nightfall when a large dark shape rose beside the canoe, after which they realised they had been carried further out into deep water. He said the men turned to constant prayer as the canoe drifted along the coastline.
The call that ended the search
The breakthrough came when the canoe crossed into Benin's waters and the men finally picked up a mobile phone signal. That allowed them to call home, which set the rescue in motion.
Quansah said the operation brought together the navies of Ghana, Togo and Benin, working with local Beninese fishermen. The crew was reunited with their families on Friday, 23 October, after nearly two weeks of uncertainty for relatives in Sekondi.
Why it matters
For Ghanaian families with relatives in coastal fishing work, including many abroad who send support home, the case is a reminder of how quickly a single mechanical failure can put lives at risk on canoes that often operate without reliable communication or tracking equipment. It also shows the value of cross-border cooperation along the Gulf of Guinea, where currents can carry a disabled boat across national boundaries within days.
