The family of five paid £186 for two cabins for the journey, he said.
Ghanaian businessman and Chief Executive Officer of Star Oil Company Limited, Philip Kwame Tieku, is calling for the development of a modern ferry service along Ghana’s coast.
He believes an efficient coastal ferry system could provide travellers with an alternative to long road journeys while improving connectivity between communities along the coast.
In a post on Facebook, sighted by GhanaWeb Business on Monday, August 24, 2026, Tieku said the idea was inspired by a recent trip on the Stena Edda ferry from Liverpool to Belfast in the United Kingdom, which he made with his wife, Afua Tieku, and their children.
He said the ferry covered about 250 kilometres in eight hours and provided passengers with a range of facilities, including comfortable cabins, restaurants, cinemas and public spaces.
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The family of five paid £186 for two cabins for the journey, he said.
According to Tieku, the Stena Edda has a capacity of up to 927 passengers and 120 vehicles and cost €185 million to build.
He said the experience demonstrated how sea transport could be developed beyond simply moving passengers from one destination to another, with comfort and convenience also forming part of the service.
Using the experience as a reference, Tieku proposed the development of a ferry route connecting Aflao, James Town, Cape Coast and Axim.
“I hope one day we can have a Stena Edda-type ferry running between Aflao-James Town-Cape Coast-Axim,” he said.
He suggested that such a route could connect several coastal communities while providing an alternative to road transportation.
Tieku also proposed a possible fare of GH¢560 per passenger for a 16-hour journey between Aflao and Axim.
He questioned whether travellers would be willing to pay such a fare if the service offered facilities comparable to a four-star hotel.
Tieku noted that the journey between Aflao and Axim currently takes about 10 hours by road.
Although a ferry could take longer, he argued that the experience could be more comfortable if passengers had access to accommodation, food, entertainment and other facilities during the journey.
The proposal comes amid broader discussions about the need to diversify Ghana’s transport infrastructure and improve connectivity between different parts of the country.
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A functioning coastal ferry network could potentially serve both passenger and vehicle traffic while creating another transport option for businesses and tourists.
It could also provide opportunities for coastal communities to benefit from increased passenger movement and related commercial activities.
However, establishing such a service would require significant investment in vessels, landing facilities, safety infrastructure and port operations.
It would also require assessments of passenger demand, operating costs, coastal conditions and the commercial viability of the proposed routes.
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