Captain James Hackman ("J.H.") Tachie-Menson (4 April 1928 – 9 February 2014) was an African pioneer and musician, widely recognized as the first African Master Mariner/Ship's Captain. He gained additional recognition as the author of a number of choral compositions that have been performed by various choirs and musicians in Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Early life
Captain Tachie-Menson was born on 4 April 1928 in Cape Coast, Ghana. He completed his secondary education at Adisadel College in Cape Coast, and later proceeded to Liverpool, England, in 1951 under a programme initiated by the Gold Coast Railway and Harbor Authority for the training of Africans to become pilots and tug-masters.
Maritime career
Elder Dempster
Captain Tachie-Menson served in the British Merchant Navy from 1951 to 1960, on board various ships in the fleet of the Liverpool-based shipping company, Elder Dempster Lines, while simultaneously pursuing prescribed courses and maritime studies at the Liverpool Nautical College (now Maritime Academy at Liverpool John Moores University). He completed his four-year training as a Cadet on Elder Dempster's motor ship Macgregor Laird, and was quickly promoted through all the Navigational officer grades, from the rank of Third Mate to that of Chief Officer, on board various ships in Elder Dempster's fleet, including the Royal Mail and passenger liners, Accra, Apapa and MV Aureol, sailing regularly between Liverpool and the West Coast of Africa.
Master Mariner/Captain qualification
In 1960, Tachie-Menson acquired the British Board of Trade Certificate of Competency as Master Mariner, the qualification required for sailing as a captain on British ships as well as other commercial liners, giving him the distinction of being the first African south of the Sahara to be qualified to command a ship operating on international/trans-ocean voyages.
Black Star Line
Captain Tachie-Menson returned home to Ghana in 1960 on Elder Dempster's passenger liner, Aureol. Later that year, in response to an urgent call on him by the chairman and the board of directors of Ghana's rapidly expanding national shipping company, Black Star Line, which Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, the first President of Ghana, had formed soon after Ghana gained its independence from the United Kingdom, Captain Tachie-Menson joined the company. Shortly thereafter, he was appointed as captain of the S.S. Tano River, one of the four ships owned and operated by Black Star Line at the time, thereby becoming not only the first black African to ever be appointed to command a merchant navy ship, but also the first Ghanaian to become a Master Mariner and captain of a foreign-going vessel.
Captain Tachie-Menson continued his career as a captain with the Black Star Line's Fleet for several years, trailblazing several voyages across the Atlantic Ocean and through the Baltic and North Seas on the Tano River and subsequently the Nasia River. It was in his capacity as captain of these two ships that Tachie-Menson first gained recognition and reverence in the North American continent, especially by notable civil rights activists in the US. The Captain would later serve as chief superintendent of Black Star Line's marine office in London and, following his return to Ghana in the 1970s, became the managing director and CEO of Black Star Line.
Maritime organizations
Throughout his maritime career, Captain Tachie-Menson represented Ghana at several international maritime conferences, including the International Maritime Consultative Organization (IMCO) Loadline Conference of 1966, at which he proposed the extension of the Tropical Zone to incorporate the Canary Islands. That proposal, which was unanimously adopted, benefited the international maritime industry immensely by allowing ships to obtain maximum fuel in the Canary Islands, which in turn enabled them to travel further to ports in and beyond South Africa. Captain Tachie-Menson also served for approximately five years, as Chairman of the Association of African National Shipping Lines, was a leading member of the America-West Africa Freight Conference, and Principal of the United Kingdom-West Africa Lines Conference (UKWAL).
Presentation to Queen Elizabeth II
Notably, in July 1977, he was one of three shipping executives (from Ghana, Nigeria and the United Kingdom) who, with their wives, were presented to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at a special maritime ceremony in England during the celebration of the Queen's Silver Jubilee Anniversary on the British throne.