A phone signal from a drifting canoe helped reconnect seven Ghanaian fishermen with people on shore, according to reports on their rescue. After the crew’s boat lost power and moved into Beninese waters, local fishing communities and naval teams from neighboring countries joined the effort that returned the seven safely to Ghana. Their home community welcomed them on Oct. 23.
The crew set out on Oct. 9 aboard a canoe called Second Chance. Accounts place the departure point differently: ChannelOne reported Ngyiresia; Citi said the men left Sekondi for Axim; 3News reported that the fishermen left Axim. The Ministry’s Oct. 26 account says the fishing trip was off Axim and the welcome was in Ngyiresia, but it does not identify where Second Chance departed. Reports agree the canoe lost power and winds and currents carried it into Beninese waters.
ChannelOne reported that the canoe’s owner told police the seven were missing on Oct. 18, after they did not return from their Oct. 9 trip. 3News described their experience at sea as a 12-day ordeal; the Ministry placed the rescue on Oct. 21. The reports date the police notice and rescue separately, without equating the time between the police notice and rescue with total time at sea.
3News reported that a crew member regained mobile service and reached the canoe’s manager, Francis Akesse, at about 11:45 p.m. on Oct. 20. ChannelOne separately reports that Ngyiresia’s chief fisherman, Nana Kwesi Ackon, received a crew member’s call on Oct. 21, after which the search gained momentum. The reports name different recipients and dates, but do not explain whether the contacts were separate or connected.
Published accounts give different dates for the alert. Citi says Ghana’s Navy received a Fisheries Commission distress alert on Oct. 20; the Ministry’s Oct. 26 recap says the rescue followed an alert on Oct. 21. Neither explains the difference, so this story attributes the dates without concluding whether there was one alert or more than one. Both accounts place the canoe’s rescue in Beninese waters on Oct. 21.
The Ministry says Togolese Navy patrol vessel OTI located the canoe about three nautical miles off Grand-Popo in Benin. Citi and 3News report that local Beninese fishers assisted the response alongside the Beninese and Togolese navies. ChannelOne reported that the Togolese Navy gave the crew food and immediate assistance before towing their canoe toward the Ghana-Togo maritime boundary.
Citi reported that Ghana Navy Ship Aflao received the fishermen from a Togolese vessel at about 6:49 a.m. on Oct. 22 and brought them to Tema Fishing Harbour. A Navy officer told Citi the men were in good condition and received food and medical care aboard the Ghanaian ship. ChannelOne said they were medically assessed and rested before being transported home. The reported handoff from a Togolese vessel to GNS Aflao marked the shift from the regional search to Ghana’s return leg.
The Ministry says it held a welcome-home press conference in Ngyiresia on Oct. 23 to mark the crew’s return to their families and community. ChannelOne reported that Minister Emelia Arthur addressed a welcome gathering there and thanked the countries and agencies involved. 3News reported that the crew reunited with their families that day; the reports do not describe individual relatives’ reactions at the event.
The Ministry also commended chief fishermen for supporting the rescue and described it as maritime cooperation among Ghana, Togo and Benin. Other reports fill in the handoffs: fishers in Benin assisted the response, a Togolese patrol vessel helped the crew, and Ghana Navy Ship Aflao carried them the rest of the way to Tema. Together, those accounts trace how a call from the canoe reached rescuers across borders and ended with the crew back home.
By the end of Oct. 23, the seven fishermen were back in their home community. The reported rescue connected a call from the canoe with help across borders and a welcome on shore, giving the crew a safe return after their trip was interrupted at sea.
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