The Ghana Navy responded to a call for assistance from a Bocimar tanker sailing off the coast of Africa, only to find that seven stowaways were hiding in the steering gear room above the rudder. The individuals have been removed from the tanker, and an investigation is underway to determine their nationalities and how they got aboard the tanker.
The Belgian-flagged tanker Cap Fexlis (158,765 dwt) was approximately 200 nautical miles out to sea when the call for assistance came in to the Ghana Navy via the Maritime Operations Center in Côte d'Ivoire. It is unclear how the tanker, which was sailing from Abidjan, had become aware of the stowaways.
The Ghana naval vessel Achimota was dispatched on May 13 to meet up with the tanker. A video released by a news outlet in Ghana shows the Navy using a small launch to approach the tanker, and a man can be seen standing on the top of the rudder. In total, they removed seven males from the ship.
The tanker, which is operated by Bocimar, appears to be transporting oil from Nigeria to Côte d'Ivoire. The authorities were investigating whether the individuals had climbed aboard the tanker while it was anchored near Abidjan. They said the stowaways might have been Ghanaians living in Côte d'Ivoire. It is unclear where they thought they were going aboard the tanker.
It is not the first instance of stowaways climbing to the top of the rudder or entering the steering gear room aboard the rudder. Spanish authorities in the Canary Islands in 2022 reported finding three men aboard a tanker, believing they had gotten on the rudder in Lagos, Nigeria, and traveled more than 2,000 miles on the vessel.
There were similar incidents in 2023 when the authorities in the Canary Islands, during a routine inspection, found two stowaways perched on the top of the rudder of an MSC containership arriving from Africa, and in 2024 when dockworkers reported spotting four stowaways after an MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company vessel arrived in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.The longest incident, however, was in 2023 when a Liberian vessel arriving in Brazil reported possible stowaways. The Brazilian police took into custody four men believed to be from Nigeria, who they said had been atop the rudder for a 13-day Atlantic crossing.
The Ghana Navy reported that the seven suspects HAD been handed over to the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, Ghana Immigration Service, and Marine Police for further investigations and possible prosecution.
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