Ghana’s navy and air force rescued 71 fishermen after gunmen attacked their boats off the coast of Ghana, a local official said Thursday, describing a robbery that left the crew stranded at sea. Kalala Nyamekye Eghan, the top local government official for the Awutu Senya West District in Ghana’s Central Region, said the fishermen had been targeted by armed men late Wednesday.
Eghan said the gunmen attacked the fishermen’s boats and robbed them, stealing outboard motors that powered the vessels. With the engines taken, the fishermen were left stranded offshore until the military recovered them the next day. He said all 71 fishermen were rescued Thursday morning and taken to a hospital, where they were later discharged.
The Ghana Armed Forces said earlier Thursday that it was responding to attacks on boats in the area. In a statement, the Ghana Armed Forces said it was conducting a search-and-rescue operation off the coast of Senya Bereku in the Central Region following reports of the attacks.
Navy spokesperson Capt. Veronica Adzo Arhin said in the statement: “The operation is ongoing, and the Ghana Armed Forces appeals to all to remain calm. Further details will be communicated.” She did not provide additional information about injuries or the circumstances of the gunmen’s attack.
Eghan said an investigation into who was responsible for the attack was ongoing. The episode comes amid wider concern about violence at sea in the Gulf of Guinea, an area of the Atlantic Ocean along West Africa that has been described as a piracy hot spot.
Eghan’s description of the incident echoed that broader pattern: armed groups have targeted commercial and fishing vessels for robbery and kidnapping in the Gulf of Guinea, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. The same U.N. office said incidents had declined since 2021, attributing the change to increased naval patrols and stronger regional security cooperation.