STORY: PRINCE OBIMPEH / WWW.NEWSMANGH.COM
According to the MP, a GMA inspection report dated July 27, 2025, recorded 14 missing statutory certificates and indicated that the vessel had no oil record book, garbage record book or sewage holding tank. He further claimed that São Tomé and Príncipe, the flag state under which MV Sankofa purportedly operated, denied ever registering the vessel. These findings, he said, led the GMA to conclude that the vessel was not seaworthy.
Mr Awuku said although the GMA initially imposed a statutory penalty of US$1 million in its cedi equivalent, the Authority later waived the amount after a subsequent inspection reportedly found no evidence that MV Sankofa had been trading in Ghana. The MP, however, argues that the explanation does not address how the vessel entered Tema Fishing Harbour, moved to Tema Anchorage, operated within Ghanaian waters and was eventually allowed to leave. He also questioned whether the doctrine of innocent passage could adequately explain the vessel’s movements.
The MP has also raised questions over an alleged US$60,000 discrepancy in pollution-related penalties contained in two GMA records. He said the Authority’s inspection report placed the penalties at US$139,200, while a response to a Right to Information request dated June 12, 2026, cited US$79,200. Mr Awuku is demanding that the GMA reconcile the figures, disclose the legal opinion or decision that authorised the US$1 million waiver, and identify the officer who authorised MV Sankofa’s departure from Ghana on November 14, 2025.
Mr Awuku has indicated that he will petition the Minister for Transport and the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) over the handling of MV Sankofa. His petition, he said, will seek the legal and administrative records supporting the waiver, a full reconciliation of the pollution penalties, the identity of the official who cleared the vessel to leave Ghana, and the inspection and clearance documents relied upon. He also pointed to reports that the vessel was later detained in Senegal in connection with a drug investigation and was reportedly flying the Ghanaian flag, arguing that the circumstances raise broader questions about maritime safety, vessel registration and regulatory oversight.
