By Nii Martey M. Botchway
Accra, Sept. 25, GNA – The Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA) has called for a shift from the ratification of international maritime conventions to their effective implementation.
The Authority says the country’s progress should be measured not by the number of instruments ratified, but by the tangible improvements they deliver in the sector.
Dr Kamal-Deen Ali, Director-General of the GMA, said this at Ghana’s celebration of World Maritime Day 2026 in Accra.
He said Ghana had made significant progress in aligning its national laws with major international conventions, including the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW), the Nairobi International Convention on the Removal of Wrecks, and the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC).
Dr Ali, however, said the true test of progress lay in vessel safety, seafarer welfare, ocean protection and the efficiency of ports and maritime services.
“It is not in the number of treaties ratified or passed, but in the safety of our vessels and the protection and sustainability of our ocean and internal waters,” he said.
“The real test is in the welfare and safety of our seafarers and the efficiency of our ports and other related maritime services,” he added.
From policy to practice
Speaking on the theme, “From Policy to Practice: Powering Maritime Excellence,” Dr Ali said the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) choice of theme represented a deliberate shift from having conventions on paper to ensuring visible and measurable implementation at sea, in ports and across maritime value chains.
He said implementation must ultimately be assessed by its impact on people working in and depending on the sector.
The GMA, he noted, must look beyond legislation and examine what was actually happening aboard ships, in ports, fishing communities, training institutions and the wider maritime environment.
Recounting his engagement with seafarers during the Day of the Seafarer, Dr Ali said their concerns, frustrations and aspirations reinforced the need to ensure regulation remained connected to the people it was intended to serve.
“If a seafarer struggles to access a service, we must ask why. If an industry player is delayed because our institutions are not coordinating effectively, then we must fix the system,” he said.
“Where policies are sound but implementation is falling short, we must acknowledge the gaps and take steps to close them,” he added.
Digitalisation and collaboration
Dr Ali said the Authority was translating policies into action through measures to improve safety and security of Ghana’s waters, protect seafarer welfare and create opportunities for young Ghanaians to pursue careers at sea.
He said the GMA was also advancing the Maritime Single Window, strengthening regulatory systems and preparing the sector for a more digital, greener and technologically advanced future.
He, however, said maritime excellence could not be achieved by the GMA alone and called for stronger coordination and an end to institutional silos.
“A ship entering our waters does not experience government agencies separately. It experiences one port. The shipowner sees one system. The seafarer sees one system,” he said.
“We must intentionally work as one maritime ecosystem, break down institutional silos, strengthen coordination and make it easier for the people we serve to navigate our maritime space,” he added.
Dr Ali said this year’s World Maritime Day celebration was deliberately designed as the beginning of a wider conversation on the challenges confronting the sector, adding that next year’s celebration would ask a more difficult question: “What did we actually achieve?”
“This year, we listen, we diagnose, we identify the gaps and agree on what must change,” he said.
He urged government, regulators, industry, labour, academia, development partners and civil society to openly identify gaps, develop ambitious solutions and
hold themselves accountable for implementation.
GNA
Nii Martey Botchway
Edited by Samuel Osei-Frempong