Body of Chinese fishing vessel captain retrieved, 14 others rescued after vessel capsized

A joint operation of the Ghana Navy, the Ghana Airforce and the Ghana Maritime Authority has led to the rescue of fourteen out of 26 crew members of a Ghanaian registered fishing vessel which sunk on Friday, May 6, 2022.

According to the statement from the GMA, it received a distress call on the situation of the vessel on Saturday, May 7, 2022, and immediately went out in search of the troubled vessel within Ghana’s waters.

“On Saturday, May 7, 2022, the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) of the Ghana Maritime Authority received distress calls from the crew of MV Mengxing 6, a fishing vessel operating in Ghana’s waters. It reported that a sister Ghanaian registered fishing vessel, MV Comforter 2, owned by Boatacom Enterprises Ltd., had sunk.

“The information was immediately shared with key stakeholders – the Ghana Navy and the Fisheries Commission. The monitoring team of the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development (MoFAD) discovered that MV Comforter 2 was last seen at around 14:09:54 at a position Lat. 04 25.620N Long. 001 01.788W, which is, 57 nautical miles from Takoradi and 43 nautical miles off the coast of Elmina,” the statement said in part.

It further stated that with the support of both the Ghana Navy and the Ghana Airforce, a rescue operation was initiated, leading to the rescue of the fourteen persons, while the body of the Chinese captain was also retrieved.

“A rescue team led by the Navy, with air support from the Ghana Airforce, was instantly dispatched to the area to carry out the rescue operation.

“The rescue team confirmed that MV Comforter 2 had sunk on Friday afternoon when an attempt to haul a net with a bumper catch in very heavy seas resulted in the vessel capsizing.

“The vessel had 26 crew onboard, sic were Chinese while the remaining 20 were Ghanaians. Fourteen of the crew were rescued. The body of the Chinese captain was also retrieved, with ten crew members (three of them Chinese) and the observer from the Fisheries Commission still missing,” it added.

The statement added that the rescue party is still working to find the missing persons.

Also, the Authority said it has constituted a committee to, “conduct a Marine Casualty Investigation” into the incident.