James Hackman Tachie-Menson

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.

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.

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.

Nigerian National Shipping Line and Grundstad Maritime In 1980, as a result of political instability in his native country, Ghana, Captain Tachie-Menson returned to England and back to sea as captain on various vessels initially in the fleet of the Nigerian National Shipping Line, and subsequently with the fleet of Grundstad Maritime Overseas, Inc., a company founded by his longtime friend and shipping colleague, Oddmund Grundstad. There, he oversaw operations of the company's cruise ships: Viking Princess, Crown Del Mar, Crown Monarch, Crown Jewel, and Crown Dynasty. His notable musical compositions include "Where is our God in whom we trust?", "The New Born Prince of Peace", "Afrehyia-Pa", and "He is still our God" ("Leonora"). He had nine children: Cynthia, James, Charlotte, Charles, Michael, Ursula, Vanessa, Odette and Oddmund.