Mr Amarfio who was speaking at the Ghana News Agency Tema Industrial News Hub Dialogue platform in reaction to a BBC report published on January 4, 2023, on “Ghana fishing: Abuse, corruption, and death on Chinese vessel,” said safety on fishing vessels was a shared responsibility.

He said vessel owners must ensure that the fishing vessels had competent and a licensed radio officers by the Ghana Maritime Authority, to aid in effective communication should there be any accident at sea.

Such communication equipment he said was to ensure that in case of any accident at sea, a distress message was sent out and other vessels could quickly come to the rescue of the vessel involved in the accident.

Mr Amarfio also spoke about other safety equipment such as the life raft, which was used for emergencies to keep the crew members out of the water while they waited awaited a rescue team in case of any accident at sea.

He said an alarm system on the vessel would also play a vital role in alerting others when the vessel was sinking or in case of an emergency, hence the importance communication must not be downplayed, he said.

He said there were certified first aid drugs that every vessel must carry in case of sudden ailment on board at sea, notwithstanding, if the situation was beyond the vessel was recommended to dock at a nearby port for immediate treatment of the patient on board, he said.

Mr Amarfio, encouraged crew members especially the Ghanaian team members not to underrate the safety precautions.