China Says Fishing Boat Crew is Safe After Piracy Incident Off Ghana

Ghana’s Navy announced over the weekend that it was investigating a suspected piracy attack on a commercial fishing boat off the coast of the West African country. Initial reports indicated that three Chinese nationals had been kidnapped from the vessel but today, March 31, Chinese officials reported the crew are “physically safe.”

The incident took place Thursday evening, March 27, according to the report from Ghana. The fishing vessel Mengxin 1, registered in Ghana, was at sea when it was approached and boarded by seven armed pirates. The Ghana Navy reports warning shots were fired and several crewmembers on the fishing vessel went into hiding.

The pirates assembled the crewmembers they could locate on deck and robbed the crew of their mobile phones. After about three hours the pirates left the vessel. MDAT-GoG (Maritime Domain Awareness Trade - Gulf of Guinea), the French – British effort for maritime situational awareness in the Gulf of Guinea reports the incident took place approximately 16 nautical miles southwest of the Ghanian capital of Accra.

The crewmembers in hiding reported they emerged to find the captain, chief mate, and chief engineer, all Chinese nationals, missing. Because there was no mobile network coverage out at sea it took some time for the incident to be reported until the remaining crew could get the vessel close enough to shore to gain a signal.

The Ghanaian Navy began a search. It also issued an alert to neighboring countries to be looking for the pirates. The fishing boat proceeded back to the port of Tema in Ghana.

Asked about the incident, a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it had been in touch with the embassy and Ghanian officials.

“The crew members are physically safe now. China will work with Ghana to earnestly protect the safety and security of Chinese nationals and institutions in Ghana,” responded spokesperson Guo Jiakun during the ministry’s daily press briefing in Beijing on March 31.

It is the second incident with a Chinese fishing vessel in recent months. In November, a Chinese fishing boat operating in the east off the Horn of Africa was boarded and held by pirates from Yemen. The Chinese embassy reported that the vessel had been released in January 2025 without providing details.