Incident Summary
Incident Type: Fire outbreak
Date: Sunday, 21 June 2026
Location: Albert Bosumtwi-Sam Fishing Harbour, Sekondi, Western Region
Persons/Vessels Involved: Harbour users and operators within the affected area. No fishing boats were affected.
Casualties: No casualties reported.
Property Destroyed/Damaged: Two saloon vehicles, three handcarts and the rear section of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) Administration Block.
Suspected Cause: Rainfall-induced landslide which damaged an electricity line and triggered the fire.
Source: Western Regional Command of the Ghana National Fire Service, as reported by Citi News.
Sequence Of Events
On Sunday, 21 June 2026, a fire broke out at the Albert Bosumtwi-Sam Fishing Harbour in Sekondi following heavy rainfall in the area.
According to preliminary investigations by the Western Regional Command of the Ghana National Fire Service, the rainfall triggered a landslide which damaged an electricity line within the fishing harbour enclave, resulting in the fire.
The situation became more dangerous because of the continuing heavy rainfall. Gutters within the harbour were filled with rainwater, while spilled fuel floated on the surface of the water.
The flowing water consequently carried the fuel and fire through the gutters towards a nearby tank farm, creating the risk of the fire spreading to major fuel storage infrastructure.
Firefighters therefore concentrated their response on containing the moving fuel fire and preventing it from reaching the nearby coastal fuel tank.
The fire continued for approximately four hours before firefighters succeeded in completely extinguishing it at about 8:15 p.m.
Outcome
The fire destroyed two saloon vehicles and three handcarts.
The rear section of the GPHA Administration Block was also burnt. However, firefighters prevented the fire from spreading through the rest of the building and saved it from total destruction.
More significantly, the response prevented the fire from reaching the nearby coastal fuel tank/tank farm, which could have resulted in a substantially larger fire and potentially more serious consequences.
No fishing boats were affected by the fire.
The incident also demonstrates an important secondary risk associated with petroleum products at fishing harbours during heavy rainfall: spilled fuel can float on stormwater and travel through drainage systems, carrying fire beyond the original point of ignition.
Status: Fire extinguished at approximately 8:15 p.m.; no fishing boats affected; preliminary investigation points to a rainfall-induced landslide damaging an electricity line as the trigger.