By Godwin Oritse

A motor tanker vessel, MT KEMEPADE, reported missing from the Lagos anchorage on September 28 has been found in a shipyard at Tema Harbour in Ghana with the International Maritime Organisation, IMO, number removed.

The vessel, which was reported missing by the owner, had one sailor on board at the time of the incident.

The management of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, had requested ships in the area to report sighting of the ship.

In addition to deploying Automatic Identification Tracking System, AIS, the agency collaborated with neigbouring countries such as Togo, Liberia and Benin through their  Maritime Rescue Coordi-nation Centres, MRCCs, to enhance the search operation.

Five days later, the vessel was found in the shipyard at Tema Harbour in Ghana with IMO number erased.