Another boat has sunk at the Elmina Fishing Harbour on Saturday afternoon after being struck by a powerful tidal wave, causing extensive damage.
The 28-member crew was, however, unharmed.
The vessel, an eight-year-old boat, collided with underwater rocks and boulders around 1130 hours, pushing off its course by strong winds toward the rocky sea defence at the harbour.
This is the second boat to suffer such a fate within the state in one month and the sixth boat disaster at the Central Region’s major fishing harbour in three years, raising serious safety concerns.
Last month’s incident on Tuesday, August 19, 2025, involved the second-largest fishing vessel in Ghana’s premier fishing hub of Elmina with 15 crew members aboard the vessel.
Although the crew survived, the boat suffered extensive damage.
A crew member of Saturday’s incident, Samuel Amoah, said that the boat hit the underwater rocks, with water gushing out, and eventually breaking apart.
He described the scene as “pretty sad,” with the vessel turning into floating debris.
Mr Amoah expressed worry about how the crew will support their families after losing millions of cedis.
Onlookers gathered to catch a glimpse of the boat drifting and breaking apart despite rescue efforts by nearby vessels.
Many other crew members called for urgent and regular dredging of the harbour to prevent future accidents.
They emphasised that without dredging, the harbour’s capacity to accommodate large vessels will decline with the increasing risks from accumulated silt, rocks and boulders, reducing fishing activities.
Reacting to the incident, Yeboah Asante, the Manager of the facility, assured stakeholders that urgent measures were being made to dredge the harbour to improve its operations.
He explained that sediment build-up had reduced the harbour’s depth, hindering the movement of fishing vessels and increasing operational risks.
Mr Asante expressed confidence that with timely dredging, the harbour would accommodate larger vessels, reduce downtime, and contribute significantly to the livelihoods of fishermen in Elmina and surrounding areas.
“The dredging project is a priority, aimed at restoring the harbour’s functionality to boost economic activities,” Mr Asante said.
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