A second Ghana Navy ship, GNS Anzone, yesterday berthed at the Sekondi Naval Base, with 542 Ghanaian returnees and nationals of Liberia, Burkina Faso and Cote d’Ivoire on board.

The passengers, who fled the fighting in Liberia, were made up of 265 Ghanaians, 274 Liberians, one Burkinabe and an Ivorian. There were a total of 434 adults and 18 children on board.

The ship, which berthed at 7 a.m., left the Port of Monrovia, Liberia, on Thursday, June 19, under the command of Commander B.F. Asante.

After a brief welcome ceremony, performed on behalf of the Western Regional Minister by a member of the Regional Co-ordinating Council, Mr Moses Blay, the returnees and the refugees were sent to a temporary reception camp at the Sekondi Naval Base, where they were registered and screened by officials from the Immigration Service, the police and other security agencies.

The Deputy Regional Co-ordinator of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), Mr Ernest Adjei, said the returnees will later be sent to the Essipong Reception Centre, near Sekondi, where the Ghanaians among them will be provided with 15 kilogrammes of maize and some high energy-giving biscuits provided by the World Food Programme to sustain them till they get to their various homes.

He said the other nationals will also be provided with food and biscuits. He said they will later undergo further screening to determine their refugee and other status.

Mr Adjei further noted that the government has provided buses to send the Ghanaian returnees to their various homes.

Commander Asante said most passengers on board suffered from seasickness and other minor ailments.

He said the situation in Liberia is unpredictable, since anything can happen to change the status quo.

He said he and his men had to put up an aggressive posture to be able to accomplish their mission of transporting the returnees and other nationals to Ghana.

The Regional Police Commander, ACP Ofosu Mensah Gyeabuor, said adequate security measures have been put in place at the Naval Base and the Essipong Camp.

He said officials of the Criminal Investigations Department will monitor and take the fingerprints of the returnees and refugees and analyse them to determine if they have any criminal records.