Accra, April 22, GNA – The Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA) has reaffirmed its commitment to executing its mandate with integrity, stating that all its operations are conducted in accordance with national and international maritime regulatory standards.
A statement issued by the Authority on Wednesday said its activities, including ship inspections and surveys, monitoring and enforcement, and vessel registration processes, were being carried out strictly within established legal frameworks.
The statement followed public commentary and media interviews by Samuel Awuku, Member of Parliament for Akuapem North, concerning a vessel identified as MV Sankofa (IMO No. 7395870).
The GMA clarified that the vessel in question is no longer under Ghana’s ownership.
Originally registered in 1983 as MV KAAS 105 under the Ghanaian flag, the ship went through several name changes-becoming MV AFKO 312 in 1987 and later MV Marine 711 in 2011.
In 2024, its owners formally applied for deregistration, completing all required procedures, including surrendering its Certificate of Ghanaian Registry.
As a result, the vessel was officially removed from the Ghana Ship Registry on April 23, 2024.
The Authority also noted that another vessel, MV SANKOFA (IMO No. 907855), had once been registered under Ghana’s flag in 2014 but was similarly deregistered on October 6, 2021, after fulfilling the mandatory processes and surrendering its certificate.
“The GMA, therefore, wishes to state that neither the vessel in question with IMO No 7395870 nor the vessel with IMO No 907855 is on Ghana’s register; therefore, they are not Ghanaian flagged vessels. It should further be clarified that, by our protocols, no two vessels can bear the same name while on Ghana’s register,” the Authority said.
Providing further details, the GMA said MV Sankofa (IMO No. 7395870) was sighted by the Ghana Navy on July 18, 2025, within Ghana’s territorial waters during routine patrols.
It said further inspection by the Ghana Navy and the GMA revealed violations of Ghana’s maritime labour regulations and the Marine Pollution Act, 2016 (Act 932).
These included the failure to maintain relevant record books, as well as evidence of false flagging.
“In light of these findings, the Authority imposed the following statutory fines on the vessel for various infractions: $79,200 for marine pollution regulatory breaches, GH₵154,800 for violations of the maritime labour regulations and GH₵30,000 for the act of false flagging.
“Although there was an initial suspicion that the vessel could have carried cargo or engaged in commercial business between Ghana’s ports, further inspections confirmed this was not the case. Consequently, a fine which could have carried a maximum penalty of $1 million could not be imposed.
“Following technical remedial measures by the vessel, including the acquisition of a provisional certificate of registry from Cameroon, and the payment of a portion of the fines with a managed payment plan, the vessel was released in November 2025,” it said.
The statement said authorities in Senegal contacted the GMA on March 23, 2026, regarding the vessel.
“They sought to verify its registration and requested consent to board the vessel following suspicions of its involvement in illicit narcotics trafficking within their maritime space.
“The GMA responded promptly, clarifying that the vessel is not registered in Ghana and explicitly disassociating the Republic of Ghana from all activities involving the said vessel.
“It should be stated that the Senegalese authorities subsequently communicated that upon boarding and searching the vessel, no illicit drugs were found.
“Furthermore, the vessel possessed electronic documents indicating registration under the Cameroonian flag,” the Authority stated.
The GMA said a Right to Information request had been submitted regarding the matter.
GNA
Edited by Kenneth Sackey