The Executive Director for the Center of Maritime law and safety, Kamal Deen says stakeholders within the maritime space must intensify investigations to ensure that the missing fishing observer is found.
According to the retired naval Captain, there are some critical questions that need to be answered to unravel the circumstances that led to the disappearance.
“These are the key questions that we will have to interrogate and in the larger interest of the nation and ensure that we are better prepared. I think this issue must be investigated to its bottom because somebody cannot disappear like that – there must be information we are not in possession of or someone is not giving. It is key that, this is done because this is the life of a fishing observer who was working for the whole country”, he said on Eyewitness News.
One Emmanuel Essien, a fishing observer assigned to the Meng Xin 15, a Chinese Vessel operating in Ghana, has been reported missing for about three weeks.
His colleagues allege that the vessel returned from its deep-sea operations without Emmanuel.
Although Mr. Deen is unsure if an ideal search and rescue mechanism has been launched, he believes the non-adherence to such a procedure is likely to blame for the current turn of events,
He added that a report confirming the disappearance will bring finality to the matter.
“If someone disappeared or cannot be found at sea, then a search and rescue ‘mission’ must be activated by an institution. So it is important to know in this case whether such was ever done when it was activated and which areas were searched and what report confirmed that the person cannot be found, so some state institutions must have a role to play in this one.
“Can the navy and other agencies be able to respond to a search and rescue team to be at the scene? Do we really have those platforms that can let us respond that quickly or do we have other vessels complement us to conduct such a search?”, he quizzed.
It is standard practice to assign observers to foreign and local fishing vessels that fish in Ghanaian waters.
The Monitoring, Control and Surveillance department of the Ministry for Fisheries and Aquaculture is responsible for the assignment of observers.
Meanwhile, the Fisheries Commission, has said the crew of Chinese fishing vessel who were arrested, over the disappearance of a fishing observer, have been granted bail.
Its Executive Director, Michael Arthur- Dadzie told the media that the police have granted the crew police inquiry bill and an extract.