Tema, Aug. 3, GNA - The Tema Traditional Council on Tuesday performed purification rites at the PSC Tema Ship Yard to ensure a peaceful repose of the souls of the victims of the Good Friday fire disaster.

Clad in red and black cloths, the priest and priestesses of the council slaughtered three different kinds of animals, recited incantations and sprinkled the blood at the site, whiles some of them sang traditional songs in support.

The Nai Wulomo, Nii Mantey Din led the ceremony. In an interaction with the press, a Spokesman for the Traditional Council, Nii Shiipi Armah Somponu said the ceremony had the support of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA).

He explained that even though a lot of measures have been put in place to prevent the re-occurrence of such a disaster, the council also thought it would be the best to pacify the gods to prevent future re-occurrence of a calamity of that nature.

It was also to remove the stigma that has been attached to the site after the disaster, he added.

According to Nii Shiipi, this time was chosen in view of the fact that the Homowo festival is just about to start and prayers have been offered to the gods to listen to their pleas. "We are also pleading with them to forgive us, if the disaster was as a result of any offence we have committed, he stated. He however, warned that the fact that the place has been purified does not mean the effect of any negligence on the part of human beings could be saved by the gods and advised that it was important for workers to observe safety measures to prevent future re-occurrence. On Friday March 25, this year, a fire outbreak at the shipyard claimed the lives of 18 workers, carrying out repair works on MV Polaris, when a spark of fire from a wielding machine came into contact with spilled fuel around the vessel.

The fire destroyed properties worth over 80 billion cedis.