Navy man drowns at Jubilee Oil Fields

An Ordinary Seaman attached to the Home Port of the Western Naval Command last Friday got drowned during routine naval patrol around the Jubilee Fields off the coast of the Western Region.

According to the Director of Public Relations of the Ghana Armed Forces, Col. Mawini Atintande, the unfortunate incident occurred when gusty winds caused the lifeboat capsized. The deceased has been identified as rdinary Seaman (OS) Emmanuel Assan.

He said colleagues tried to help the victim by activating his emergency procedures on the life jacket but the colleagues lost contact with Assan as he went down quickly due to high swift and strong current around the jubilee fields.

Col Atintande said in the early hours of Friday, during its routine operational patrols of the offshore installations and its western boarders, Ghana Navy Ship (GNS) Yaa Asantewaa sighted two fishing vessels seriously fishing around the oilfields.

He said the fishing vessels were accosted in an operation called stopped for boarding, search and seizure.

Col. Atintande said two-team comprising three officers and six ratings in addition to a boat crew of two were detailed to two fishing vessels.

The teams he said successfully boarded and investigated the two fishing vessels and found out that they were operating within the law.

The two naval teams returned to their mother ship GNS Yaa Asantewaa in the life boat and that while the life boat was alongside the ship seven of the personnel first went onboard, leaving the boat’s crew and two other boarding team members, including OS Assan.

Col. Atintande said just when the boarding team members were ready to go onboard the ship; a strong wave hit the lifeboat against the ship, which caused the lifeboat to capsize.

Asked if the victim was in the safety ware, Col. Atintande responded in the affirmative, noting that the victim and his colleagues were all in their life jackets which were self-inflatable.

The vessel, GNS Yaa Asantewaa returned to the home Port after days of search for Assan, since it was also running out of fuel to keep the vessel afloat and other fishing boats had been requested to assist in retrieving the remains of Assan.

By Moses Dotsey Aklorbortu/Daily Graphic/Ghana