The Ghana Maritime Authority in collaboration with the Western Naval command and marine police have arrested eight persons suspected to be engaged in illegal bunkering.

The arrest was made during a routine patrol on the sea to check activities within the Takoradi area.

The eight are currently in the custody of the Ghana Marine Police while the boat is at the Western Naval command.

The wooden boat, loaded with about 55,000 to 60 000 tones of oil was arrested Wednesday morning.

The growing activities of these illegal boats, locally called Dendeys, is becoming a menace in the Takoradi area.

Disguised as fishing boats, these massive wooden vessels, with a storage capacity of tens of thousands of litres and propelled by twin-outboard motors, go to the high seas, mostly at night where illegal tanker ships dock

Tons of fuel is pumped from the tankers into these wooden boats which then sail to different beaches and discharge their content into fuel tankers on the blind side of regulatory authorities.

Director for the Marine Police, ACP Seidu Iddi Lancer tells JoyNews the eight will soon be arraign before the court for the appropriate sanction.

Meanwhile, the GMA and marine police have handed over the oil to the National Petroleum Authority to check the quality of the oil.

The Ghana Revenue Authority has also been tasked to check the revenue lost to the country as a result of this illegal activity.